A new species is monkeying around at the London Zoo.

Visitors can observe the creatures flaunting their natural behaviors in a wooded habitat on the world famous Bear Mountain.

But these animals are far more pale and less hairy than most animals in the zoo.

They're the centrepiece of the world's first Human Zoo exhibit, putting three male and five female Homo sapiens on display with little more than fig leaves to cover themselves.

  • Photo Gallery: The Human Zoo

    "A lot of people think humans are above other animals," said one of the animals on display, 26-year-old chemist Tom Mahoney. "When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds us that we're not that special."

    The zoo says the four-day event aims to demonstrate the basic nature of man as an animal.

    Signs teach visitors about their diet and survival instincts.

    The humans are being well-fed and watered by the London Zoo's experienced keepers.

    The exhibit, which is open to the public until Aug. 29, was also designed to examine the impact that Homo sapiens have on the rest of the animal kingdom.

    The humans were chosen for the exhibit based on essays they wrote for the zoo in which they had to say, in 50 words or less, why they wanted to take part in "The Human Zoo."

    Actor Brendan Carr, 25, won his spot with this verse: "I'm funky like a monkey and as cool as a cat, talk more than a parrot, up all night like a bat."