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Tourists visiting a zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, to look at the animals are being asked to avoid doing just that.

Officials at Antwerp Zoo have requested that visitors refrain from spending too much time looking at one particular chimpanzee as he is having difficulty integrating with his species.

Known as Cheetah, the chimp was raised by humans and is now being introduced to his own kind but is struggling as he is so quick to form bonds with humans.

'We inform our daily visitors and other visitors that one of the monkeys is particularly open for human contact,' zoo spokeswoman Ilse Segers told the Associated Press.

'He is raised by humans in a family and therefore we are trying to integrate him, to try to get more social integration with the group.'

Signs have been put up around the zoo asking visitors to avoid eye contact with the animal but Ms Segers says that people can still look at the animals they have come to see.

'Of course eye contact is not forbidden,' she said. 'We have more than one million visitors a year and of course they are very welcome still to have a look at the animals.'

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