Story By: Amelia Guran, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@raccoon.tema
The owner of this raccoon has insisted he is not fat but have agreed to bring in a nutritionist to manage his diet after a massive protest online.
Footage showing the chubby-looking raccoon from the south-western Siberian industrial city of Kemerovo, in Russia, prompted a storm of protest from netizens.
It resulted in a massive online criticism that the owners of overfeeding the animal, named Tema.
Owner Elena Troskina insisted: “He can run, so people shouldn’t think that he is so fat that he can’t stand up.
Video Credit: CEN/@raccoon.tema
“In contrast to how he seemed on the video, he really is quite active, not only does he love to run but he’s also really happy scampering down the street, and he can even climb trees quite happily.”
These videos show Tema burying himself in the furniture, which he likes to make holes in, having his belly scratched, sitting on his owner’s lap, and munching on food.
She also insisted that a normal raccoon can be up to 25 kilogrammes (55 lbs), and she said that Tema tipped the scales at a much lighter 16 kilogrammes (35 lbs). She also denied feeding him unhealthy foods and said that his diet consisted almost exclusively specialised dry food recommended for raccoon’s and similar animals.
However, in the wake of the ongoing criticism, she confirmed that they had hired a personal nutritionist for the pet, and that the diet would start after they finished a one-week holiday together.
She confirmed: “We have turned to a nutritionist to lose weight a little. Even though he is well below the 25 kilogrammes that is a maximum weight, we decided that he could lose a couple of kilogrammes to make it easier for himself.”
She said the nutritionist had already come up with a programme for the unusual pet, and that the diet would last a full month.
She added: “It involves a lot of cottage cheese and turkey, as well as various vitamin supplements.”
Former model Elena, 35, got the raccoon with her boyfriend Oleg, 27, after buying him from the zoo when he was eight weeks old.
She said they were hard work and very intelligent, demanding lots of attention and earlier in the year she told fans: “I love him very much, though I don’t remember my life before him.”
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