No More Bananas for the Monkeys

Who could possibly be so cruel as to separate a monkey from his bananas? Look at that poor little guy -his face tells you how he feels about eating a Brussels sprout instead of a banana. That's what's happened at Paignton Zoo in Devon, England. Bananas are no longer on the menu at the monkey house.

The zoo says the high calorie and sugar content of bananas grown for human consumption -- which are sweeter than those found in the wild -- are bad for the monkeys' health and can rot their teeth.

"Bananas grown for human consumption are full of sugar and calories, and bear no relation to fruit grown organically," said zoo spokesman Philip Knowling.

"Life in the wild is hard work and in a zoo you can sometimes look after the animals too well and it isn't good for their health."

Zoo staff tried but are having difficulty securing a supply of wild-grown bananas with lower sugar content. In place of bananas, monkeys are being fed more leafy greens. The results so far is that their fur is thicker and the younger monkey are less aggressive. They still don't look too happy about the change. -via the Presurfer