Smoking chimpanzee dies at 52

A chimpanzee famous for smoking cigarettes has died at the age of 52 - of natural causes. Charlie lived ten years longer than the average captive chimp despite his bad habit, keepers at Bloemfontein Zoo in South Africa said. Photo: Independent Newspapers

A chimpanzee famous for smoking cigarettes has died at the age of 52 - of natural causes. Charlie lived ten years longer than the average captive chimp despite his bad habit, keepers at Bloemfontein Zoo in South Africa said. Photo: Independent Newspapers

Published Oct 6, 2010

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A chimpanzee famous for smoking cigarettes has died at the age of 52 - of natural causes. Charlie lived ten years longer than the average captive chimp despite his bad habit, keepers at Bloemfontein Zoo in South Africa said. He first started smoking after visitors began throwing lit cigarettes into his enclosure. No-one knows exactly how many cigarettes Charlie puffed - but this may be because the crafty ape went to great lengths to hide the unhealthy habit from his keepers, according to Daily Mail.

But Daryl Barnes, the zoo’s senior nature conservator said that in the 15 years he has worked there, he saw Charlie smoke about five times.

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