Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Russian Boxer Faces Zoo Sanctions After Orangutan Vape Video

Veterinarians have begun examining the orangutan after it lost appetite, becoming unresponsive following vape inhalation.

Image
Bujang, a 35-year-old male orangutan rescued from a circus in Sumatra, waits for food on a sanctuary island surrounded by a river where non-releasable orangutans are protected for life at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Rehabilitation Center run by the non-profit Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation in Samboja, East Kalimantan, on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)
Image
Image

Overview

  • Taigan Park Zoo is weighing a fine and lifetime ban against Anastasia Luchkina under rules that prohibit teasing or touching animals through enclosures.
  • Dana, the only orangutan at the Crimean park and an IUCN Red List species, has shown appetite loss and unresponsiveness since inhaling from the vape.
  • Veterinarians have initiated health examinations to assess potential nicotine poisoning in the endangered primate.
  • The incident drew widespread social media outrage and calls from animal welfare groups including PETA UK for criminal or zoo-level sanctions.
  • Anastasia Luchkina, a 24-year-old professional boxer with one pro bout to her record, shared the viral footage on social media over the weekend.