Meet the Chimp That Has a Pack a Day Smoking Habit

There's a newly renovated zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea, and the zoo already has an inhabitant: a chimpanzee who smokes a pack a day.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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There's a newly renovated zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea, and the zoo already has an inhabitant that has the world captivated: a chimpanzee who smokes a pack a day. But don't worry: the North Korean zoo insists that their star, Azalea, doesn't inhale when she lights up.

Meet Azalea, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee who smokes a packet of cigarettes a day and lives at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea pic.twitter.com/hyaPMCQ4cl

— Elliot Wagland (@elliotwagland) October 19, 2016

NBC News reports that Azalea is able to light her own cigarettes with a lighter, or just use the last smoke to light up the new one when it's time to start. NBC also reports that Azalea's smoking habit has been delightful for the crowds who have gathered around to watch her puff the day away. 

The zoo is also home to a second chimpanzee (who apparently doesn't have a smoking addiction), elephants, giraffes, and a dog pavilion, which NBC reports is home to breeds ranging from German shepherds to Shi Tsus. 

The zoo has existed since 1959, and started renovations in 2014, according to NBC. North Korea has been in dire poverty and isolated from the broader world for decades, but Kim Jong Un has been working to renovate and create new structures in the country's capital city.

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