STOP EVERYTHING: Bananas, which have been associated with monkeys since the dawn of time, are actually too unhealthy for the critters to eat.
Animal nutritionists at a zoo in the UK have banned the monkeys eating the fruit, comparing primates eating bananas to humans eating “too much cake and chocolate”.
Head of Conservation at the Paignton Zoo in Devon, Amy Plowman, told the Herald Scotland that fruit cultivated for humans is not as healthy as the fruit monkeys would find in the wild:
Compared to food they would eat in the wild, bananas are much more energy-dense – they have lots of calories – and contain much more sugar that’s bad for their teeth and can lead to diabetes.
Smaller monkeys like tamarins and marmosets have become “less aggressive and highly-strung” since going off bananas – much like small children, too much sugar makes them hyperactive.
The monkeys at the zoo have been put on a diet of vegetables instead, and slowly weaned off their beloved bananas. However they do get some if they’re unwell, as a treat.
Monkeys. They’re just like us.
