Japanese Zoo Considering Photo Ban After US Tourists Invade Punch the Monkey’s Enclosure

An American tourist who climbed into a monkey enclosure at a Japanese zoo while wearing an emoji costume has prompted a potential photo ban.

Ichikawa City Zoo in the Chiba Prefecture is home to Punch the Monkey, a primate who went viral earlier this year after he was rejected by the other monkeys and was given an orangutan plushie as comfort.

The trespass incident on May 17 involved two U.S. citizens, Reid Jahnai Dayson, 24, and Neal Jabahri Duan, 27, who were allegedly filming the stunt for social media.

The enclosure they jumped into houses 60 monkeys, including the aforementioned Punch, all of them scampered to the top of the climbing frame when the costumed man entered.

According to French news agency AFP, both Dayson and Duan were arrested and face charges of forcible obstruction of business, something they have reportedly denied. Officials also said they tried to give false names to the police and didn’t have formal identification on them.

The incident prompted the zoo to widen the buffer zone around the enclosure and says it is adding “intrusion prevention nets” as well as permanent patrols near the site.

The monkey enclosure at Ichikawa Zoo has drawn more attention and visitors ever since the world got wind of Punch the Monkey’s story — he was abandoned at birth by his mother and was bullied by the other monkeys. Punch, a Japanese macaque monkey, clung to the plush orangutan toy from IKEA, which led to the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.

Following the emoji suit break-in, coupled with the intense attention Punch has been getting, the zoo is now considering a full ban on any kind of photography near the monkey enclosure. All of the commotion threatens the health of the animals and the safety of the zookeepers.

“We want to take various measures to ensure something like this never happens again,” Takashi Yasunaga, head of the Ichikawa municipal government’s zoological and botanical garden division, tells Japanese news outlet The Mainichi.

A photo ban at tourist sites in Japan is not unheard of. The country has seen a surge in tourism in recent years. Locals living in Fujiyoshida — a town at the foot of Mount Fuji and a popular spot during cherry blossom season — have complained about “tourist pollution.” Often, the main reason tourists go there is for a good photo.

Another tourist got in trouble this week for posing with his shirt off at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Rus Nasibov apologized, saying he is “truly sorry” and was “unaware.”

The Japanese government is planning to triple its tourist tax from 1,000 yen ($6) to 3,000 yen ($18). That levy will start from July 1.