Meet the monkey ‘with a human face’: 19-year-old primate that looks like a distressed man ‘hopes to find a wife’
A monkey which shot to fame for having human-like facial expressions has been having difficulties finding romance.
The Tianjin Zoo in eastern China is hoping to play matchmaker for the 19-year-old primate which is said to have been a ‘bachelor’ all his life.
The monkey sent the internet into a frenzy last year after being photographed sporting looks on his face similar to those of a distressed man.
The zoo said the unnamed animal wasn’t paired up mainly due to ‘a lack of fate’.
A spokesperson told MailOnline that the human-faced monkey, formally known as a Margarita Island Capuchin, had an ‘aggressive’ personality.
‘He is very active and aggressive. [He] likes playing with mud and smashing coconuts,’ the spokesperson said.
The monkey was brought into the zoo in 2002.
He previously had two female companions, but both of them died, and he went on to play with monkeys of other sub-species in the enclosure.
‘He currently has three playmates,’ the zoo said. ‘We bought three other Margarita Island Capuchins in 2016, but none of them is sexually mature yet.’
The zoo added: ‘When the younger Capuchin monkeys grow up, we hope there will be chemistry between our huma
Tens of thousands of people have come to the zoo to see the human-faced monkey since he became an internet star.
Commenting on his life after reaching stardom, the zoo said it was ‘business as usual’.
‘Keepers have been looking after him as normal. We have more than 20 types of monkeys in our monkey pavilion, and keepers will not give him any special treatment.’
Margarita Island Capuchins can usually live for 25 to 30 years.
Earlier this month, Chinese web users were astonished by a carp that appeared to have ‘a human face’.
Trending footage shows the fish sporting markings that resemble a man’s mouth, nose and eyes on its head.
A woman who was filming the video was so awestruck by the sight she gushed: ‘The fish has turned into a fairy.’
The extraordinary carp lives in the Miao Village, a tourist destination in the city of Kunming in southern China.