Amorous gibbons keep neighbours awake!!!

Now Samuel and Duana, a pair of agile gibbons, have been placed under curfew to give residents nearby some respite from their mating rituals. 

Zoo keepers are under instructions to confine the pair inside their housing on "Gibbon Island" for three nights a week. 

The male and female became star attractions at Bristol Zoo when they arrived as part of a breeding programme, and were described as the "all-singing Kings of the Swingers". They had the run of the outdoor area complete with playground equipment and trees to swing on, and were even allowed to roam the space at night. 

Seven-year-old Duana was the first to come to Bristol, from the Fota Wildlife Park in Cork, in November. Samuel, 11, followed a few weeks later from Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire. 

But some locals complained that their sleep was being interrupted by the pair's early morning mating rituals, which include a love duet. Environmental health officers from Bristol City Council spent several mornings monitoring the singing and upheld the complaints. More...

See also:

• Have you ever seen an aye-aye? 
• The baby monkey that likes eating nostrils!!
• The horny langur and Indian women...