news from the animal kingdom

Not your mama's 'birds and bees'

Former zoo resident Tinkerbelle the elephant had a penchant for 18-wheeler truck tires, and a zebra in the African Savanna is infatuated with Samson the giraffe. Cobby the chimp, meanwhile, is fond of keepers' rubber boots. "It's his special fetish," Tollini said. "He'll put his finger out and touch the shoe. ... Then he'll play with his nipples, eat bananas and masturbate.

It gets better.

And then there's brown sugar bacon.