A chimpanzee at a zoo in Russia has developed such a bad drinking and smoking problem that his handlers have sent him to rehab.
Zoo authorities said visitors frequently treated Zhora the chimp to alcohol and cigarettes until he developed a heavy addiction, according to Russian daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
The former circus performer even screamed and pestered passing zoo visitors to give him liquor.
Zhora has been a resident at the Rostov Zoo, 200km northeast of Moscow, for the past five years after being brought from the Tatarstan republic.
"We asked visitors not to give him (alcohol and cigarettes), but it was all in vain," Rostov Zoo deputy head Hope Yevtushenko was quoted as saying.
Although Zhora was kept behind three rows of fences, visitors managed to throw bottles and cigarettes at him, zoo workers said.
Visitors reportedly found it amusing to watch Zhora open a bottle of beer, drink it and then the empty bottle back into the crowd.
"People laugh when they see an animal drinking (alcohol) and smoking, but vicious habits damage (the animal's) health, and many do not understand this," zoo workers were quoted saying.
The chimp has now been sent to a rehab facility in the city of Kazan, where it is suffering from "exhaustion", veterinarians said.
