No one wants a bored monkey who won't monkey around. So a German zoo hired a clown to clown around for the monkeys and cheer them up.

Zoo bosses hired a local entertainer to fool around in front of the chimps, baboons, gorillas and orangutans in zoo cages because a veterinarian said that bored monkeys were more often sick or aggressive monkeys.

The vet explained that in the wild monkeys didn't have time to get bored because they were busy hunting for their next meal. But in zoos where all their food is handed to them they have too much time on their hands and find that boring.

The entertainer comes bearing footballs, plastic bags, cardboard boxes or blocks of wood among other things and makes games and puzzles for the animals.

"They go wild when they see me coming because they know they're going to have some fun," said Christina Peter, 45, according Independent Online News.