Ichikawa police named two men arrested after Sunday’s breach at the zoo’s macaque enclosure: a 24-year-old who says he is a student and a 27-year-old who says he is a singer.
Police are holding them on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business after one entered the enclosure and the other filmed from outside, according to the zoo’s director; neither has admitted the allegation.
Video of the May 17 stunt showed a costumed intruder dropping into the enclosure, sending the monkeys scrambling up a rock structure before a zoo employee intervened.
The zoo, which had about 600 visitors that day and stayed open, said the macaques are safe and is adding patrols, intrusion-prevention nets and a wider restricted viewing zone.
The enclosure houses Punch, a baby Japanese macaque who went viral after videos showed him bonding with an orangutan plushie and drawing broad online support.
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