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Depressed chimpanzee addicted to cigarettes after watching offspring die
IT'S not a sight one would expect to come across in the chimpanzee enclosure. But visitors to a zoo in China are having to get used to the sight of its resident primate puffing away on a cigarette. Ai Ai formed the habit after watching visitors and her keepers smoking at Qinling Zoo, in central Shaanxi province. It is thought the 26-year-old had been struggling to cope with the death of her second mate and one of her offspring. She began picking up butts near her cage and now is given whole cigarettes from time to time to keep her calm. Keepers are trying to gradually reduce her daily intake. Ai Ai is not the only smoking chimp in China - home to one in three of the world's smokers. In Zhengzhou Zoo 13year-old Feili took up the habit because her mate 28 years her senior was unable to keep up with her amorous demands. Posted by: God Save The World 2005-08-26 |
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