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This orangutan at the San Diego Zoo prefers edible treats to cigarettes. Reuters

Malaysian authorities have seized a Malaysian orangutan who delighted visitors by smoking cigarettes tossed into her cage.

Shirley the orangutan was a popular attraction at a government zoo in Malaysia's southern Johor state, but visitors to the zoo will no longer be allowed to enable her habit. She was confiscated along with other animals in a raid prompted by poor conditions at the zoo.

Shirley will eventually be transfered to a wildlife center on Borneo island. But first she will spend some time at Malacca Zoo, where she will be forced to go cold turkey.

I would say she is not addicted ... but she might have formed a habit after mimicking human beings who were smoking around her, zoo director Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed told the Associated Press.

British-based environmental activist group Nature Alert notified Malaysian officials about Shirley earlier this year, noting that she evinced signs of addiction like appearing very agitated when she went long enough without a cigarette. Here is a video of Shirley puffing away:

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