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A zoo has shirked responsibility after a critically endangered orangutan was spotted puffing down on a cigarette.
The orangutan was seen punching a dart at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Ho Chi Minh city.
In photos obtained of the incident, the endangered primate can be seen sitting on the enclosure floor with the smoke between his fingers.
While imitating a human smoker, the orangutan then took two long drags on the cigarette before stubbing it out on some nearby stones.
The primate seems to be a natural when it comes to smoking ciggies, as he then was seen checking the butt to ensure it was properly out before throwing it away.
A spokesman for the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens said that the orangutan had not been given a cigarette.
The zoo claimed the endangered orangutan had found the durry after it was thrown by a visitor.
The spokesman said: “People often throw things into the animals cages and the orangutan learns how to use these objects by seeing how people use them.”
The zoo added that security guards do not have the time to keep a constant check on what was happening but they are now being more vigilant after images of the endangered animal went viral.
The photos come a few weeks after a zoo visitor was caught on video being manhandled – or monkeyhandled – by an orangutan at a zoo in Indonesia.
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