A chimpanzee was seen sitting behind a glass barrier puffing on a cigarette thrown into its enclosure by visitors at a zoo.
The shocking footage was filmed at Lanzhou Wildlife Park in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province in north-western China, and shared online on 4th October where it quickly caused outrage among animal lovers.
The clip shows the chimpanzee gripping the cigarette with both hands as it appears to inhale from it and exhale smoke before flicking away the butt.
Staff at Lanzhou Wildlife Park said the animal had picked up the cigarette after tourists tossed it into the enclosure.
They explained that such behaviour from visitors was normally stopped immediately but that there had been too many people in the area that day for staff to react in time.
A spokesperson told local media that the chimpanzee was unharmed and had not suffered any ill effects from the incident.
The zoo confirmed that the chimpanzee remains on public display as usual.
Online commentators condemned the visitors for giving the animal a cigarette, with one user calling it “cruel and irresponsible” and another saying it was “a sign that people need better respect for animals”.
Tourists were hypnotised by the smoking chimpanzees in Lanzhou Wildlife Park, north-western China
Jiaku was a fellow chimp smoker based in Tianshan Wildlife Zoo located in Urumqi, China
Others questioned why the zoo did not have stricter supervision to prevent visitors from throwing objects into the enclosure.
Lanzhou Wildlife Park houses more than 100 species of animals including lions, tigers, and primates, and has previously promoted public education campaigns about animal welfare and safety.
This type of incident is far from new in Chinese zoos, with social media regularly inundated with clips of puffing primates.
Earlier this year, Nanning Zoo in Guangxi, southern China, launched an investigation into the welfare of its animals after a chimp was spotted by visitors wielding a discarded cigarette.
A more famous example was a chimpanzee from Tianshan Wildlife Zoo located in Urumqi, China called Jiaku, who had picked up a nicotine addiction while performing in a circus.
He was transferred from the circus to the Ürümqi Zoo in Xinjiang Province under an animals exchange programme in 2002.
In 2006, he moved to Tianshan Wildlife Zoo were he gained viral attention for his fondness for cigarettes.
In 2018 a video showing tourists throwing cigarettes and lighters into Jiaku’s enclosure to encourage him to smoke, was plastered across the internet.
The zoo faced a backlash from organisations like PETA that claimed Jiaku’s caretakers were facilitating his habit for the sake of a few cheap laughs and increased attendance.
In that case, the zoo responded to criticism, promising stricter measures to ensure their enclosures were better protected against people slipping animals cigarettes on the sly.
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