World's oldest monkey dies

A monkey believed to be the world's oldest has died at the age of 53 in Japan, with her keepers saying a friendly nature and late-life love affair with a younger monkey were the secrets of her longevity.

With her affable personality, Buenos the black spider monkey was one of the most popular monkeys at Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi.

She died of heart trouble on Saturday.

"Just as we were preparing to apply for the Guinness Book, she passed away peacefully. She was so fond of people. While lying on a bed, she always wanted to hold our hands," said the centre's manager Akira Kato.

On the secrets of her longevity, Kato said: "Her calm and kind personality greatly helped. It made her life stress-free. Also she started living with a young male monkey 10 years ago, which might have excited her."

Kato said black spider monkeys have an average life span of 30 to 33 years.