Sexually frustrated chimpanzee takes up smoking, spitting in Chinese zoo
Sun Aug 29, 9:34 AM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - Visitors to the Zhengzhou Zoo in central China's Henan province who do not enjoy passive smoking, let alone being spat on, had better avoid the monkey cage.



Thirteen-year-old chimpanzee Feili has turned to smoking, begging cigarettes from visitors and spitting on them when they do not comply, the Xinhua state news agency reported Sunday.

Her fierce behavior is in reaction to being paired with a male, 28 years her senior, who seems to lack either the interest or the capability to satisfy her sexual demands, the agency said.

Although Feili's behavior may seem outrageous, it is no more so than that of the people outside the cage, since she only took up her new habits after observing the visitors to the zoo, according to Xinhua.