TWO orang-utans stake a claim to be king of the swingers as they slug each other in a boxing match.
The jungle apes trade punches in the ring dressed in silk shorts and matching boxing gloves in front of cheering audiences.
Tourists in Thailand are flocking to the bouts, which are overseen by a human referee. But the shows have been blasted by animal rights groups after they were highlighted by a British couple.
Jim and Alison Cronin, who run the Monkey World centre in Dorset, stumbled on the kick-boxing contests while filming a TV documentary on monkeys and apes.
Alison, who filmed the bouts, said: “It’s very distressing to watch. People pay to see them in a huge public safari park.”
She said the orang-utans, who are an endangered species, weigh up to 300lb and could get seriously injured.
The Cronins documentary Monkey Business is to be screened on Sunday on ITV.
The RSPCA last night branded the bouts “incredibly cruel.”
