Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

Hungry monkeys have been filmed snacking on rubbish fished out of a stagnant pond at a Chinese zoo.

The footage shows four monkeys lined up along the pool filled with slimy green water.

Behind them is barren earth scattered with rocks but little greenery and nothing to play with.

One of the monkeys appears to have picked up some rubbish and is nibbling at it, jealously turning its back to keep it safe from its enclosure mates.

Then another monkey can be seen also holding some trash dripping with water after being fished from the pond.

Two younger monkeys watched curiously and look as if they want to try to taste the new treat, but stay watching from the sidelines as the older monkey tucks in.

Online commentators said that the living environment of monkeys in the Wildlife Ecological Park of Pearl Spring Tourist Resort in Nanjing was substandard with the rubbish-filled stagnant pond proof of the problem.

They said many of the monkeys were playing with plastic waste that had been floating in the water with the zoo responding that the monkey park is currently under renovation, and that was the reason for the debris on the surface of the water.

They added that a water filter was also broken which is why the water was green but this will also soon be fixed.

They said they also planned to remove the rubbish and added that the monkeys were not going hungry, and were still getting the three meals every day as always.

Local tourism officials meanwhile at the tourist resort said they would investigate but so far have not responded formally to media requests.