A monkey bit off an eight-month-old boy's testicle at a zoo in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Tuesday and doctors said the damage was severe, Shenzhen TV reported yesterday.

The boy's family condemned zoo managers for their indifference and demanded compensation.

A park official told the family that injuries from monkey attacks "are very common and happen all the time." He didn't apologize and his remarks were recorded and shown on TV news, sparking outrage among netizens.

The monkey broke loose from a cage and was playing with visitors when it attacked the boy while the mother was changing his diaper. "It happened within seconds," the mother told the TV station.

She was shown begging doctors to save her son.

Doctors said the boy's reproductive ability would be reduced since he had only one testicle left after the attack.

The zoo agreed to pay 10,000 yuan (US$1,500) to cover medical expenses but it failed to reach a compensation deal with the boy's parents.