Monkey misery

The current trend for disheartening news just goes from bad to worse. This week another somber story came to light about how monkeys in a London zoo have had bananas removed from their daily menu. No longer will they be aloud to eat their favourite food.

The reason being for this drastic banana injunction is because the bananas they have been eating are too sweet and sugary for them. 

"Giving fruit to animals (monkeys) is equivalent to giving them chocolate and cake," stated Dr. Amy Plowman. The doctor went on to say that many people try to improve their diets by eating more fruit but the fruit cultivated for humans is much higher in sugar and and lower in protein and fibre than fruit from the wild. This is because humans have a sweeter tooth and demand more pleasant tasting fruit.

Until doctors realised this bombshell the unwitting monkeys had been happily chomping away not knowing what effects the human bananas were doing to their little teeth. Apparently the high sugar bananas they have been enjoying can lead to diabetes alongside gastrointestinal problems which are also a possibility as their stomachs are mostly adapted to eating fibrous foods with low digestibility.

Following this astounding piece of banana information the London zoo promptly began to wean their monkeys off the mushy stuff. Which one imagines did not go down well with the monkeys. Gradually more vegetables have been introduced as the disgruntled primates are slowly getting used to dinners that don't include juicy bananas.

Occasionally the monkeys at this zoo do get to eat bananas, however, this is only when they have taken ill and the wily zoo keepers use bananas as vessels in which to plant medication that normally a poorly monkey would flat out refuse. "This (tactic) works really well," Dr. Plowman reasoned as the monkeys now see bananas as a treat.

The zoo now believes that the change in diet has also improved the behaviour of the monkeys. Case in point being the smaller monkeys, such as the tamarins and marmosets who are known to be highly strung and move in tight knit social groups (gangs) which can be quite aggressive at times. Claimed a head zoo keeper. "Reducing their sugar content has calmed them down and made their group more settled."

For now... We've all seen the cautionary tale, Rise of The Apes. Apes or monkeys it only takes for one intelligent primate to speak out about the maltreatment it's being subjected to and then that London zoo has had it. 

Demola, TCC