Two U.S. citizens were detained after one of them climbed into an enclosure at the Panchi Monkey Zoo.
WASHINGTON — Two Americans were arrested in Japan on Sunday, one of whom climbed into the zoo enclosure of Punch, the baby monkey who became an Internet sensation this year.
Video posted on social media showed a man climbing a monkey enclosure wearing a costume with a smiley face and sunglasses. When the man hit the ground, the head of the costume came off and he picked it back up. According to the New York Timesthe man’s costume appears to be a mascot associated with a cryptocurrency social media account.
Japanese authorities in the Tokyo suburb of Ichikawa have detained two men on charges of obstructing the operations of the city’s zoo, according to multiple media reports.
police told AFP and new york times The man who broke into the monkey exhibit claimed to be a 24-year-old college student. Another man who filmed the stunt reportedly claimed to be a 27-year-old singer.
The video shows the macaques running away from the intruders and rushing to the top of the rock formation inside the enclosure. About a minute later, zookeepers arrived and escorted the man in costume out. Police said no monkeys were injured in the incident.
In a statement on MondayThe zoo said “no abnormalities were observed in the animals” and they planned to increase permanent patrols and install intrusion-proof netting.
a police officer told AFP The two men did not carry any official identification documents and initially tried to lie to authorities about their names.
