Oshine was kept as a pet in Africa for 13 years A New Year’s resolution for Britain’s fattest orang-utan has paid off after she lost a quarter of her body weight.Tubby Oshine tipped the scales at just over 15 stone - more than double her natural weight - and after switching to a new regime has nearly four stone over the past year.
The 14-year-old ape has cut out sweets, jelly and marshmallows and instead tucks into a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables and plenty of exercise.
Oshine arrived at Monkey World in Dorset last year from Johannesburg in South Africa having been kept as a pet for 13 years.
Her sedentary and unnatural lifestyle meant her weight rocketed.
Following intensive work by keepers at the rescue centre, Oshine has lost a quarter of her weight, is exercising and is now living with five other orang-utans.
She is also scaling a 20-metre climbing frame and has even adopted an orphaned baby orang-utan named Silvestre.
'The O-diet has worked amazingly well for Oshine,” said director Dr Alison Cronin.
'She has steadily lost a quarter of her body weight, amounting to nearly four stone over the year, and without it being too hard on her.
'Oshine has been eating a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, and lean protein the same as the rest of our orang-utans.
'Combined with the exercise of climbing and playing with the youngsters in our orang-utan creche, she is much healthier and a lot more active.
'Oshine still has more than 20 more kilos to lose but we are so happy for her and pleased that her health has improved.'
Monkey World is home to Europe’s only orang-utan creche.
As members of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for this species, Monkey World not only breeds orang-utans, but also offers a home to any babies born in European zoos that are orphaned.
The main threat to the orang-utan in the wild is habitat loss due to the logging of primary forest for agricultural land and, in particular, the unsustainable palm oil industry.
They are also used in the entertainment industry or as pets and, although this is illegal, it is a growing industry in south-east Asia.
Monkey World also breeds the critically endangered golden-cheeked gibbons and woolly monkeys at the park, as part of the EEP.