A baboon from China has begun a world tour showcasing his gymnastic and dare-devil skills - the first to do so.

Moco, from the Changzhou Yancheng Wild Animal Park, specialises in flying rings, but can also perform other stunts such as horizontal bars, parallel bars, balance beam, fire hoops and bike riding.

The baboon will join up with the Ringling Circus or New York Big Apple Circus later in the summer, reports Quirky China News.

Trainer Li Jing started to teach Moco the flying rings out of curiosity, but the training has not gone without a hitch.

"He dropped down from the high place during training and he refused to go up since then," said Li.

"I nearly aborted the plan since the accident, and only gave some basic training to him. However, one day he jumped onto the ring and looked at me, seemingly to say 'let me try again'. With safety equipment, Moco finished a set of actions perfectly."

That baboon is monkeying around too much.