MONKEYS at a zoo have been banned from eating bananas - because they are too unhealthy.

Animal nutritionists have likened giving bananas to the primates at Paignton Zoo in Devon to humans eating too much cake and chocolate.

The monkey troop at the zoo have been on a health kick and have been avoiding food that is too sweet and sugary - including bananas.

Amy Plowman, head of conservation and advocacy, said: "Fruit cultivated for humans is much higher in sugar and much lower in protein and fibre than most wild fruit because we like our fruit to be so sweet and juicy.

"Giving this to animals is equivalent to giving them cake and chocolate.

"Compared to the food they would eat in the wild, bananas are much more energy-dense - they have lots of calories - and contain much more sugar that's bad for their teeth and can lead to diabetes.

"It can also cause gastrointestinal problems as their stomachs are mostly adapted to eating fibrous foods with very low digestibility."

Dr Plowman said it had not been too hard to wean the monkeys off bananas and give them vegetables instead. They are also fed a specialist pellet feed to give them the correct balance of nutrients.

The zoo's head keeper of mammals, Matthew Webb, said the low-sugar, fruit-free diet had brought benefits.

The condition of the coats of some primates had improved, while some of the more highly strung monkeys, such as tamarins and marmosets, had become calmer.