A zoo monkey transformed into King Kong when it climbed up a pole, snatched a seagull out of the air and bashed it to death to leave onlookers horrified.

Tourist Bec Adamson and her son, Dominik, witnessed the brutal five-minute battering when they went to Chester Zoo in Cheshire on February 26.

In a video the 32-year-old mum recorded, the fearsome black-haired monkey, who is standing on a pole, snatches a large seagull as it flies past.

It holds the bird by the head and repeatedly slams it against the side of the thin pole in the enclosure.

The moment reminded Bec of the iconic King Kong scene where the giant primate hangs from the Empire State Building in New York City and rips planes from the sky to destroy them.

Mum Bec filmed a zoo monkey snatching a seagull from a pole in its enclosure
Mum Bec filmed a zoo monkey snatching a seagull from a pole in its enclosure

"Oh my God! What the hell," a young child can be heard saying in shock.

The monkey even appears to "lick blood off its fingers" as the outstretched bird becomes limp following the fatal battering.

Bec said the zoo animal then dropped the seagull and climbed down to eat the carcass.

She said: "It was like watching the real King Kong. He was really slamming it against the pole and pulling at its feathers. It was just really aggressive and mad.

The poor bird struggled to escape and ended up beaten to death
The poor bird struggled to escape and ended up beaten to death

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"We'd just been to see the rhinos, so we were walking across, then I saw all these seagulls circling and then this monkey caught one as it was flying past. It was really clever.

"I told Jamie (ex partner) and Dominik looked too, so I started filming. When I zoomed in I could see he was battering the f*** out of this seagull. I couldn't believe I was catching it on video.

"Other people started watching too and suddenly there were about 100 people watching. It was really violent, but it's natural. It's what happens in nature."

The monkey repeatedly smashed the bird to the pole and beat it to death
The monkey repeatedly smashed the bird to the pole and beat it to death

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Dominik found it "amazing" but his mum admitted he could have been "scarred for life" by the horrifying scenes.

"There were loads of seagulls flying over the top but he just picked that one. Poor thing," Bec added.

"You can't help but keep watching. We're all like little psychopaths watching this seagull getting mauled, but we want to find out what's next."

Tourists and online viewers compared the moment to the iconic scene in movie King Kong
Tourists and online viewers compared the moment to the iconic scene in movie King Kong

She posted the video on TikTok and it's been viewed more than 2million times, with users fascinated by the monkey's attack.

One commented: "King Kong beats up a giant bird."

A second agreed and joked: "What people don't know is that this is on set at the next King Kong movie. Kong v Godzilla."

"That monkey is living the dream! I've wanted to do that every time my chips were stolen," a third added.

Chester Zoo have been contacted for comment.