Two Americans were arrested at a Japanese zoo after a man in an emoji suit climbed into the enclosure of a monkey that became an internet sensation.
Baby macaque Punch went viral earlier this year after he was spotted clutching an orangutan plushie, given to him as a substitute for the mother that rejected him after birth. His popularity has led to a surge in visitors to Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo, but police had to be called out Sunday following an incident with one over-zealous fan.
Around 11am, a man dressed in a cartoonish blue suit and over sized yellow emoji head scaled the 1.5m fence at Punch’s enclosure in an apparent stunt.
The intruder was seen entering the animal’s area in front of visitors, while carrying a doll of his outfit and trying to keep his costume’s head from falling off.
A second man reportedly filmed the bizarre encounter as it unfolded, with footage shared on social media.
Neither man got close to the animals and were soon detained by zoo staff, a police spokesman told AFP. Around 60 monkeys, including Punch, were inside the enclosure at the time.
The Ichikawa Police Department identified the suspects as American nationals 24-year-old student Reid Jahnai Dayson and Neal Jabahri Duan, 27, who said he was a singer.
“We apologize for the concern caused by yesterday’s intrusion into the monkey enclosure,” the zoo said in a statement on X. “No abnormalities were observed among the animals.
“We filed a police report with the Ichikawa Police Station last night. From tomorrow onwards, we will continue to prioritize the safety and health of the animals and take appropriate measures, while strictly addressing any rule violations.”
The baby macaque – named after the celebrated manga artist and creator of Lupin III, Monkey Punch – won a legion of fans onlineafter he was seen hugging the orangutan toy given to him as a substitute for his mother when other monkeys shooed the baby away.
Punch became so popular after footage and pictures of his encounters with the toy were shared on social media that the zoo had to set rules to deal with an increase in visitors.
Attendees were told to stay quiet and to limit viewing to 10 minutes to reduce stress for Punch and the dozens of other monkeys in the enclosure.
Zookeepers nursed Punch and gave him the toy to train him to cling, an ability newborn macaques need in order to survive.
But while he initially slept with the money every night, in the months since the incident Punch has started to outgrow the toy by socialising with adult monkeys.
“Helping Punch learn the rules of monkey society and being accepted as a member is our most important task,” said Kosuke Kano, a 24-year-old zookeeper.
