A female chimpanzee given access to a TV and remote control has astonished Spanish scientists, who discovered she has a particular fondness for tuning in to soft-core pornography.

Primatologist Pablo Herreros told CBC's As it Happens that he and his fellow researchers found that when it came to her TV habits, Gina the chimp, who lives at the Seville Zoo, regularly chose to watch adult entertainment over other programming like cartoons.

Herreros said he wasn't sure whether Gina was aroused by the images, or whether the porn-addicted primate was just fascinated by the sight of unclothed human bodies.

"Maybe she likes only the naked bodies, not the sex. We know that chimpanzees and other great apes, they have a tendency to love to watch our skin," he told host Carol Off.

"I hope I can continue and find out more deeply exactly what Gina's feeling or thinking about these images," he added.