Tourist arrested for trespassing into Japan's famous Punch monkey enclosure.

Punch the monkey sits next to a stuffed orangutan at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on February 19. Photo: Reuters .

NHK reported that two American citizens were arrested on charges of trespassing into the macaque enclosure at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. This is the home of Punch, the baby macaque famous on social media.

According to police, Reid Jahnai Daysun and Neal Jabahri Duan, both in their 20s, were arrested on May 17th. Authorities said Daysun, dressed in a costume, climbed over a fence about 1.5 meters high to enter the monkey enclosure. Meanwhile, Duan stood outside filming.

The sudden appearance of strangers caused the monkeys to panic, running to the top of the artificial mountain in the enclosure. Zoo staff quickly subdued the two men and handed them over to the police on charges of "obstructing zoo operations." Investigators said Daysun refused to answer questions, while Duan denied the accusations against him.

On social media platform X, the zoo's official account stated that authorities had conducted safety inspections of the animals and facilities. "The zoo remains open until 4:30 p.m. as usual, but some visitor areas are temporarily closed and security measures have been increased," the announcement said, adding that part of the visitor area around the "monkey mountain" was cordoned off and a zoo event was canceled.

Visitors gather at Ichikawa City Zoo to see Punch in the Japanese longtail monkey enclosure. Photo: Masatoshi Okauchi.

The incident occurred amidst a surge in visitors to the Ichikawa City Zoo, fueled by the popularity of Punch, a baby monkey abandoned by its mother after birth in July 2025.

To help Punch relieve stress, zoo staff gave it a stuffed orangutan. Since then, the monkey has always hugged and carried this toy with it. Videos and images of Punch quickly went viral on social media.

To date, Punch has gradually integrated with the troop and made friends with both humans and other monkeys. It no longer clings to its stuffed animal all the time like before, although it still sleeps with it every night. The zoo now provides two stuffed animals to take turns cleaning daily.

Punch the monkey drags a stuffed orangutan at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on February 19. Photo: Reuters.

Punch's popularity has helped turn around the financial situation of Ichikawa Zoo, which had been struggling with budget deficits and a lack of visitors. Since Punch's story was published, the zoo has received over $200,000 in donations.

According to official figures, the zoo welcomed 348,885 visitors in 2025, an increase of over 100,000 from the 246,544 of the previous year. This is also the highest number of visitors since the park opened in 1987.

Source: https://znews.vn/bat-du-khach-dot-nhap-chuong-khi-punch-noi-tieng-o-nhat-ban-post1652380.html