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Charlie the smoking chimpanzee dies aged 52

Thursday, October 7, 2010

 
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Charlie, a Chimpanzee in a South African zoo who became addicted to cigarettes, has died at the age of 52, exceeding the average lifespan of a captive chimpanzee by twelve years. After a video of Charlie puffing on cigarettes discarded by visitors appeared on the Internet, the animal and the zoo gained international attention and some visitors threw him additional cigarettes.

According to his keepers, Charlie was "an occasional smoker" and even tried to hide his habit from his keepers, who were trying to get him to quit by giving him medical care and a special diet. A recent study found that only seven percent of chimpanzees in captivity live beyond forty years of age. It is estimated that 500,000 people die due to smoking-related diseases every year in the United States alone.

It is believed that Charlie learned to smoke during his time in a US circus before being transferred to the zoo. Zookeepers say that the animal died of old age but an autopsy has yet to confirm this. The zoo suggested that Charlie's body could be stuffed and put on display.


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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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