Tokyo, Japan – On Monday, Japanese police said two Americans were arrested over a stunt in a zoo's monkey enclosure which is home to Punch, the baby macaque who became a global internet sensation last year.
One of the men, who identified himself as a 24-year-old college student, was arrested Sunday after climbing a fence and dropping into a dry moat surrounding the monkey exhibit at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo.
The other man, who was filming, identified himself as a 27-year-old singer.
Images on social media show someone in a costume with a huge smiley face head with sunglasses scaling the fence, prompting the monkeys to scatter.
An Ichikawa Police official, who spoke with AFP on the condition of anonymity, said the men didn't come close to the animals and were quickly apprehended by zoo officials.
The two face charges of forcible obstruction of business, which, according to police, they deny.
The duo wasn't carrying identification and initially tried to lie to police about their names, the official added.
Punch's viral fame drives tourism surge
The arrests follow a huge surge in visitors to the zoo, from both Japan and abroad. The tourism explosion is a direct result of Punch's viral fame.
The baby monkey became an internet star after the zoo posted photos of Punch clutching an IKEA plush orangutan for comfort after being rejected by his mother.
Punch was raised in an artificial environment and began training to rejoin his troop earlier this year.
Punch's predicament sparked huge interest online. It's spawned a devoted fanbase under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
An unprecedented number of tourists are flocking to Japan, but some residents have become fed up with their unruly behavior.
Last year, a Ukrainian YouTuber with more than 6.5 million subscribers was arrested after livestreaming himself trespassing in a house in the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone.
In 2023, Johnny Somali, an American livestreamer, was arrested for allegedly trespassing on a construction site.