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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Ellie Kemp

Horror at Chester Zoo as monkey snatches seagull from the sky - and savagely smashes it to death

This is the 'horrifying' moment a monkey transformed into 'King Kong' as it scaled a 20ft-tall pole to snatch a passing seagull out of the sky - before savagely smashing it to death against its perch and eating it.

Bec Adamson was enjoying a 'lovely day out' at Chester Zoo, Cheshire, with her son last Saturday (26 February) when she says she saw a balancing monkey snatch a large bird as it flew past.

The 32-year-old began filming and captured the fearsome monkey holding its unlikely prey by the head and repeatedly slamming it against the side of his enclosure's thin pole.

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Its aggression and position reminded her of the iconic King Kong scene where the giant primate hangs from the Empire State Building and rips planes from the sky to destroy them.

The monkey even appears to 'lick blood off its fingers' as the outstretched bird becomes limp following the fatal five-minute battering.

The monkey viciously smashed the seagull before eating it (Kennedy News and Media)

Startled Bec, who was also with former partner Jamie Stockall, 35, says the zoo animal then dropped the seagull, so it quickly climbed down to grab the 'insides' from the carcass and take it away to eat.

Despite last Saturday's 'violent' ordeal, the mum-of-one claims son Dominik Minshull, five, was fascinated as it felt like the David Attenborough nature clips he loves so much.

The hospitality worker posted her startling video to TikTok on Sunday (6 March) and it's since been viewed more than 2million times, with users fascinated by the monkey's attack.

Bec, from Northwich, Cheshire, said: "It was like watching the real King Kong. He was really slamming it against the pole and pulling at its feathers. It was just really aggressive and mad.

"We'd just been to see the rhinos, so we were walking across, then I saw all these seagulls circling and then this monkey caught one as it was flying past. It was really clever.

"I told Jamie and Dominik looked too, so I started filming. When I zoomed in I could see he was battering the f**k out of this seagull. I couldn't believe I was catching it on video.

"Other people started watching too and suddenly there were about 100 people watching. It was really violent, but it's natural. It's what happens in nature.

"Dominik asked if David Attenborough was watching as well because we watch this sort of thing at home. He just thought it was amazing because he thought they were fighting.

"It could have scarred him for life. If I was his age, I'd have been terrified. I think I'm raising a psychopath.

"I've seen the comments on my video saying it's like the next King Kong movie. I noticed he was licking his fingers. He was really enjoying his meal.

"When the monkey dropped the seagull he slid down the pole so quickly, then it was pulling its insides out before he pulled it back into the cage.

"There were loads of seagulls flying over the top but he just picked that one. Poor thing.

"You can't help but keep watching. We're all like little psychopaths watching this seagull getting mauled, but we want to find out what's next."

Bec says she's pleased the violent 1.30pm scene didn't put her off her lunch, and she's baffled by how viral her video's gone.

Her TikTok post, sarcastically captioned 'lovely family day', has been liked 40,000 times and has attracted more than 1,000 comments.

Anthony Brooks commented: "King Kong beats up a giant bird."

Robert Gill agreed and joked: "What people don't know is that this is on set at the next King Kong movie. Kong v Gullzilla."

User8486469853867 said: "That monkey is living the dream! I've wanted to do that every time my chips were stolen."

Martin Brown said: "Brutal, yet so satisfying," while Dwight Shrute added: "Finger-licking good."

Chester Zoo declined to comment.

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