A monkey holds his dead offspring after it was killed by the dominant male in their exhibit at the Zhongshan Park Zoo in Shenyang, Liaoning Province on Monday. Photo: IC

 A baby monkey was strangled to death hours after its birth by an adult male inside their exhibit at the Zhongshan Park Zoo in Shenyang, Liaoning Province about two weeks ago, zoo officials said.

Employees at the zoo said the mother, who had suffered scratch wounds from attempting to defend her baby, has been embracing her dead offspring and unwilling to part with it for more than 10 days.

Zoo director Fang Ping explained the dominant male has not sired any offspring in the past three years.

They noted he became aggressive when zoo keepers introduced another male into the enclosure, who quickly impregnated two females in the group.

"Maybe the dominant male discovered the baby was not his and killed it out of rage," said a zoo keeper.

The zoo employees have since separated the monkeys into two groups.

Liaoshen Evening News