Boxer faces furious backlash after sharing vape with orangutan at zoo

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Boxer faces furious backlash after sharing vape with orangutan at zoo

The shocking footage shared by Anastasia Luchkina has left social media users outraged

Warning: This article contains footage and mentions of animal cruelty that some readers may find upsetting

An MMA fighter has sparked outrage online after posting footage of herself sharing her vape with an orangutan.

Anastasia Luchkina audaciously uploaded a video on social media of her poking her pink e-cigarette through the fencing so that the primate could take a puff.

The 24-year-old starts the clip by showing herself taking a long drag on the device before exhaling the vapour and offering it to the animal, which is caged in its enclosure.

And as they say, monkey see, monkey do - so the orangutan then mimics Luchkina's actions and also takes a long puff on her vape in the shocking footage.

Luchkina shockingly offered her vape to the orangutan in the distressing footage (X)
Luchkina shockingly offered her vape to the orangutan in the distressing footage (X)

The mammal, which is considered a highly intelligent creature and shares 96.4 percent of our genes, then appears to look slightly confused after becoming engulfed by a cloud of vapour.

Luchkina then inhales from her vape once again before presenting it to the primate for a second time - and by this point, the orangutan is eagerly waiting with pursed lips for another puff.

The boxer, from Pyatigorsk, Russia, continued to film herself sharing her vape with the zoo animal.

Worryingly, the orangutan appeared to have quickly got the hang of how to use the e-cigarette within just over 30 seconds in the now-viral footage.

Take a look at this:

According to The Sun, Luchkina was visiting Crimea's Taigan Park when she filmed the bizarre encounter with the animal.

The zoo's website states that it is home to a 'a large collection of wild animals which are of great national and scientific value', while warning that 'many species of animals are dangerous to visitors'.

It also lists a number of rules which visitors must abide by to protect the creatures and 'avoid accidents'.

Taigan Park said that 'teasing and frightening animals' is among behaviours which are strictly prohibited in the safari park, as is throwing various objects into the animal enclosures.

'Reaching your arms and legs towards the animals through the bars and nets' is also forbidden, while the website adds that 'leaning against and touching the animals with various objects' is also a huge no-no.

The 24-year-old routinely took puffs of the e-cigarette herself before passing it back to the primate (X)
The 24-year-old routinely took puffs of the e-cigarette herself before passing it back to the primate (X)

It adds: "Persons who violate these mandatory Rules will be subject to administrative liability by public order protection agencies."

Social media users have taken to X to slam Luchkina's 'cruel' conduct when interacting with the orangutan.

One person fumed: "That’s abuse! Horrible."

Another wrote: "Just disgusting behaviour, and she should not be allowed to fight again."

A third added: "The poor ape swallowed the vape, that's gonna be extremely stressful if not deadly for the poor orangutan."

People have been left appalled by Luchkina's behaviour towards the zoo animal (X)
People have been left appalled by Luchkina's behaviour towards the zoo animal (X)

A fourth chimed in saying: "Leave the animal alone!"

And a fifth person simply branded Luchkina as the 'idiot of the idiots'.

She has not yet publicly addressed the backlash, while the orangutan was reportedly unaffected by the vaping saga, although this has not yet been verified by the zoo.

LADbible has contacted both Taigan Park and animal rights organisation PETA for comment.

Local news outlet Izvestia has claimed that the zoo fear that a 'plastic fragment of the electronic cigarette' was swallowed by the orangutan, who is reportedly named Dana.

The consequences which Luchkina could face remain unclear at this time.

Featured Image Credit: X

Topics: Animals, MMA, Vaping, Viral, World News, Russia