Chimpanzee, who paints with tongue, tops art contest

New Orleans, Sept 2: A 37-year-old

, who paints with his tongue, finished at the top of the list in an online chimp

held by the Humane Society of the US, a

said. The results were announced on Thursday and Brent, a retired laboratory animal, won $10,000. It will for to the Chimp Haven sanctuary in northwest Louisiana, where he has been residing since 2006.

According to the report, Brent was not available for comment.

Vote numbers were not revealed to put the focus on the effort than the winner

Five other sanctuaries also took part in the contest and paintings made during "enrichment sessions" were sent for judgment. Chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall chose a painting by Cheetah, a male chimp of Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida, as her choice and it also won the second prize in online voting. Ripley from the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, won the third prize.

Over 27,000 people took part in the online voting. The vote numbers were not divulged so that the focus remained on the good work and not the winner, sources in the Humane Society said.

Brent's unique style of painting with his tongue helped him to top the list, said some.

OneIndia News