She is best known for her ability to smoke cigarettes, a behavior that has garnered criticism from multiple animal rights organizations. Wong Maye-E PYONGYANG, North Korea Pyongyangs newly opened zoo has a. Azalea (known in Korean as Dallae) is a chimpanzee housed at the Korea Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea. Azalea, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, smoked a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday.dbr:Azalea_(chimpanzee)_PersonFunction_1 A re-opened zoo in Pyongyang has already caused uproar thanks to one of its star attractions: a cigarette-smoking chimpanzee called Azalea.She is best known for her ability to smoke cigarettes, a behavior that has garnered criticism from multiple animal rights organizations. Chubby North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Uns weight has ballooned to more than 300 pounds - and he pulls all-nighters in a 'vicious cycle' of heavy boozing and smoking, according to spies from the South. Azalea (known in Korean as Dallae) is a chimpanzee housed at the Korea Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea.The zoo actually dates back to 1959, when Kim Il Sung, the nation's first leader and the grandfather of Kim Jong Un, ordered it built on the outskirts of the city.Īccording to its official history, the zoo started off with only 50 badgers. Renovations for the new zoo began in 2014, as part of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to create more modern and impressive structures and leisure centers around the capital. The zoo also has performances featuring other animals trained to do tricks, including a monkey that slam dunks basketballs, dogs trained to appear as though they can do addition on subtraction on an abacus and doves that fly around and land on a woman skating on an indoor stage. The zoo is pulling in thousands of visitors a day with a slew of attractions ranging from such typical fare as elephants, giraffes, penguins and monkeys to a high-tech natural history museum with displays showing the origins of the solar system and the evolution of life on Earth.Īnother of the most popular attractions that might come as a surprise to foreign visitors is the dog pavilion, which has everything from German shepherds to Shih Tzus. The trainer also prompted her to touch her nose, bow thank you and do a simple dance. Australia Brazil Canada España France (Greece) India Italia (Japan) (Korea) Québec U.K.

Though such a sight would draw outrage in many other locales, it seemed to delight visitors who roared with laughter on Wednesday as the chimpanzee, one of two at the zoo, sat puffing away as her trainer egged her on. Visitors cheer as Azalea the Chimpanzee lights up a cigarette and begin puffing smoke. Zoo officials claim the chimp doesnt inhale the smoke. If a lighter isn't available, she can light up from lit cigarette if one is tossed her way.

Thrown a lighter by a zoo trainer, the chimpanzee lights her own cigarettes. The 19-year-old chimp, named Azalea, Dallae in Korean, reportedly smokes a pack a day, according to zoo officials.Īzalea lights her own smokes using a lighter, or by bumming a light from another cigarette.Īccording to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it re-opened in July, the 19-year-old female chimpanzee, whose name in Korean is 'Dallae,' smokes about a pack a day.

Smoking chimpanzee in korea