Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This footage seen over seven million times shows zoo chimps picking up newspapers and apparently reading them just like humans – an activity they are said to do every morning.

The chimpanzees at Xi’an Qinling Wildlife Park in north-western China’s Shaanxi Province have delighted visitors who turn up to see them peruse each morning’s paper.

Footage taken on 12th January shows one of the chimps picking up a newspaper left inside its enclosure and opening its pages to read its contents.

Its companion appears just as curious and appears next to it while also trying to catch a glimpse of the paper’s text and pictures.

The amusing footage shows one of the chimps getting comfortable on a car tyre, which it uses as a recliner to read the newspaper in different posture.

The viral clip has generated a hashtag reading ‘Qinling zoo chimps read newspapers’, which has gained 30 million impressions on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo.

Zoo staff member Dong Shasha told local media: “There are always some old newspapers in our dormitory.

“One time we gave one to the chimps and they started reading it.

“The handler thought it was curious, so they filmed it.

“It’s likely that the chimps were curious about this new object, so they picked it up to examine it, not really knowing what it was.

“Obviously, they didn’t really know what they were looking at. They were just curious animals looking at something new.

“Once they see it too often, they’ll naturally lose interest.

“They have a lot of fans though. They not only read newspapers, but also wash clothes, look at themselves in mirrors, and even sweep the floor of their enclosure.

“They watch their handlers doing it and learn from us.”

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