A zoo has slammed its visitors for feeding a monkey and cruelly squeezing its tail.
They pestered one of the primates as they tried to lure it down from a tree.
They could be seen bothering the animal as they reached out with their hands in a bid to touch it.
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One woman even grasped the monkey’s tail in her hand before it decided it had had enough and climbed out of their reach.
It happened at Zlín Zoo, in the city, south east of Prague Czech Republic in its tropical hall on Thursday (8 May).
A spokesperson said “A group of visitors violated the rules and, despite the warning signs, fed our dusky leaf monkeys.
“In addition to feeding them, they also touched the animals, petted them, and ‘pulled their tails’. This behaviour goes against our visitor guidelines.”
The zoo asked the individuals to get in touch so they could hear the “potential consequences this behaviour could have on the animals’ health”.
They added: “Information regarding the amount of food given would also be helpful.”
Dusky leaf monkeys are found in Southeast Asia’s Malay Peninsula and are considered endangered.
They are relatively small and consume leaves and fruit, as reported by Need To Know.
The zoo spokesperson added: “Unfortunately, this situation reminds us of a sad event from 2009, when our first captive-born white-cheeked macaque died after being fed inappropriate food by visitors.
“Similarly, one of our most popular walking exhibits for ring-tailed lemurs had to be closed after repeated violations of the feeding ban led to aggressive behaviour from the lemurs.
“We are very reluctant to take action that would result in the tropical hall being without freely roaming animals.
“So far, the dusky leaf monkeys have not shown any signs of deteriorating health, but their digestive system is very delicate, and health complications could arise after some time.
“For now, we are closely monitoring their condition and hoping everything will be fine.”
Local Tomáš said: “No explanations, just fine them the cost of a new animal. People won’t learn otherwise until it hits them in the wallet.”
Dagmar added: “I thought it would be unsupervised children. But adults? I’d be so ashamed.”
And another Tomáš said: “Lifetime ban.”
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