Chimp finally quits smoking

A chimp at a zoo in China has finally managed to kick smoking after 16 years.

Former chain-smoker Ai Ai quit within four weeks by cutting down step by step.

Keepers at Qinling Safari Park, in Shaanxi Province, decided to help the chimp quit after her health began deteriorating.

The methods tried by handlers to divert the 27-year-old chimp's attention from cigarettes included a walk after breakfast, music sessions after lunch and gym after dinner, reports Xinhua.

One zoo keeper said: "She's served fried dishes and dumplings at every meal, alongside her usual diet of milk, banana and rice.

"I also put earphones on her so that she could enjoy some pop music from my Walkman.

"In the first few days, she squealed for cigarettes every now and then, but as her life became more colourful, she gradually forgot about them altogether."

Ai Ai started smoking cigarettes given to her by visitors shortly after her first male companion died in 1989.

She took to chain smoking in 1997 out of loneliness and grief when her second companion died and a daughter was moved to another zoo.

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