An orangutan that amused visitors to her Malaysian zoo
by smoking cigarette butts thrown into her cage is being forced to
go cold turkey, a keeper said Monday.
Authorities seized the orangutan, named Shirley, along with a
tiger and other animals from a state-run zoo in the southern state
of Johor last week after they were found to have been kept in poor
conditions.
Shirley, believed to be more than 20 years old, has been
transferred to Malacca Zoo where she will be forced to kick the
habit, said the institution's director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed.
"When we brought Shirley here, she is just like a normal
orangutan... But orangutans are very smart animals. They will
follow what people do," he told AFP.
He said "irresponsible visitors" would throw lit cigarette butts
into Shirley's cage at the Johor Zoo, which she would pick up and
smoke.
Ahmad Azhar said Shirley was expected to stay at the Malacca Zoo
for about a month before being transferred to a rehabilitation
centre in Sarawak state on Borneo island, where orangutans still
live in the wild.
Malaysia has pledged to better protect animals from abuse and
illegal trade, which critics say still flourishes in the Southeast
Asian country.
Earlier this month, police rescued about 300 cats from a
pet-boarding business after its operators left them without
adequate food and water and in filthy cages for days.