{"id":652307,"date":"2026-05-19T12:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652307\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:11:41","slug":"two-arrested-after-alleged-stunt-in-enclosure-of-viral-monkey-punch-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652307\/","title":{"rendered":"Two arrested after alleged stunt in enclosure of viral monkey Punch: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral<\/a> <\/p>\n

This video shows Punch, a young macaque in Japan who has gone viral, seeking physical contact not from his stuffed toy, but from another monkey, eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques known as the “piggyback ride.” Punch gained fame after his birth last year and his abandonment by his mother.<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Two American nationals were reportedly arrested in Japan<\/a> on Sunday after one allegedly entered the enclosure of Punch, the young macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo who became famous online for his inseparable bond with a stuffed orangutan toy.<\/p>\n

Videos circulating online appear to show a person dressed in an emoji costume<\/a> climbing over a barrier into the Japanese macaque enclosure before dropping a small stuffed toy near the animals, startling them and causing them to retreat, according to Agence France-Presse<\/a> (AFP).<\/p>\n

The suspects were identified as a 24-year-old college student and a 27-year-old self-described singer, AFP reported.<\/p>\n

PUNCH THE MONKEY, VIRAL STAR, EXPERIENCES DRAMATIC BREAKTHROUGH AMONG ZOO MATES<\/a><\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2026 shows Punch sitting with his stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo. (JIJI PRESS \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Zoo staff quickly intervened, and authorities said neither suspect made physical contact with the monkeys, according to AFP.<\/p>\n

Ichikawa Police told AFP the two men were arrested<\/a> on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.<\/p>\n

One suspect was not cooperating with police, while the other denied the allegations, according to reports citing NHK.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to X on May 17, Ichikawa City Zoo confirmed the pair had been turned over to police and said safety inspections were conducted afterward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ORPHANED BABY MONKEY FINDS COMFORT IN STUFFED ANIMAL AFTER BEING ABANDONED BY MOTHER AT BIRTH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Baby <\/p>\n

Punch is seen with his stuffed animal on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo by David Mareuil\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Officials added that no animals <\/a>were injured during the incident.<\/p>\n

“Around 10:50 today, there was an intruder in Saruyama,” the zoo wrote. “We are informing you that the two individuals, including the intruder in question, have been handed over to the police.”<\/p>\n

The zoo also announced temporary viewing-area closures and enhanced security measures while operations continued as scheduled.<\/p>\n

SEVERAL MONKEYS STILL ON THE LOOSE IN ST LOUIS AS OFFICIALS CALL OFF SEARCH FOR ROAMING ANIMALS<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Punch-kun <\/p>\n

Punch became a viral sensation earlier this year after zoo staff gave him a stuffed orangutan toy for comfort.\u00a0 (@20230605x_x via Storyful)<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

The monkey had been abandoned by his mother shortly after birth in July 2025, prompting zookeepers<\/a> to hand-raise him.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Story tips can be sent to sophia.compton@fox.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral This video shows Punch, a young macaque…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,107222,451,3471,3,56954,12840,452,453,2427,5138,4477],"class_list":{"0":"post-652307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-crime-world","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-japan","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-police-and-law-enforcement","15":"tag-primates","16":"tag-top-stories","17":"tag-topstories","18":"tag-travel","19":"tag-wild-nature","20":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}