It seems
that some travelers simply don't understand the concept of respect when
visiting other countries. In an incident that seems to be taken from a lousy comedy,
two men claiming to be U.S. citizens were arrested in Chiba Prefecture after
starring in a rather ridiculous show. One of them decided it was an excellent
idea to don a yellow suit and jump straight into the monkey enclosure at the
Ichikawa City Zoo, all while his partner recorded the feat with his cell
phone from the security barrier.
An act
of total irresponsibility
The fall of
approximately four meters could have ended in a tragedy, but the real problem
was the panic they unleashed among the animals. More than sixty macaques live
in that restricted area, including the famous baby monkey named Punch, who went
viral some time ago for being raised with an orangutan stuffed animal after
being abandoned by his mother. Fortunately, the zoo staff acted immediately and
managed to subdue the intruder before the animals reacted violently or anyone
was injured. The most absurd thing about the case is that, after being handed
over to the authorities, both subjects flatly denied the charges, arguing that
the man in the costume had acted on his own without planning it with his
cameraman.
International
outrage was swift
Logically,
the news completely lit up social networks, and users had no mercy with these
individuals. In the discussion forums, people from all over the world expressed
their total rejection of this type of behavior, which is designed only to
generate easy reactions on the internet. Some comments suggested harsh and
sarcastic punishments, such as leaving them alone in the tigers' enclosure at
lunchtime, while others simply lamented that the reputation of international
tourists continues to be tarnished by content creators who
seek quick fame while ignoring any rules of coexistence and safety.
This type
of situation reminds us that animals are not props to a video and that public
venues have strict rules for very real reasons of preservation. Seeing the
level of unconsciousness these subjects demonstrated by invading an area full
of nervous animals
