Posts Tagged ‘monkey’

Monkey uses stuffed animal as replacement mother

A baby macaque abandoned by her mother and raised by zookeepers at the Ichikawa Zoo has been using a Rilakkuma stuffed animal as a replacement mother:

When she was initially introduced to the main monkey enclosure in January, the stuffed animal kept her company when the other monkeys would shun and bully her.

Almost half a year has passed, and she’s adjusted to life in the enclosure and socializes with the other monkeys. She only occasionally spends time with her stuffed animal “mom.”

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Monkey spotted in Tokyo’s Minato Ward

FTV reports that a monkey, possibly the same one spotted in Shibuya Station last month, was seen in Tokyo’s Minato Ward yesterday:

Witnesses first spotted it in the area about a week ago, eating a Japanese persimmon plucked from a tree. The most recent sighting of the monkey took place at a temple, where it was reportedly fighting with two or three crows. Residents were able to snap a photo of the monkey, allowing an expert to examine its facial features and proclaim that this is probably the famous Shibuya Station monkey.

Monkey captured in Oita City

Some of you reading this morning’s post about the monkey evading police in Tokyo have reacted by questioning the abilities of Japanese police. Such generalizations are inaccurate and unfair, especially since police in Oita City demonstrated yesterday that some police forces in Japan are quite capable of dealing with monkey threats.

Here’s a video clip from NTV news showing them apprehending a monkey that was climbing on some buildings in their city:

The monkey was not harmed in the operation, and police plan to take him to the mountains and release him into the wild.

Monkey spotted at Shibuya station

A wild monkey was spotted inside Shibuya station this morning, but police failed to capture the beast:

“It’s a monkey – it’s not like it did anything bad,” a police spokesman said, adding that the animal was still on the loose.

The monkey was spotted hopping around by the automatic ticket gates at a train line in Shibuya Station in central Tokyo at about 9:40 a.m. .

It then ran downstairs to the entrance to another line, climbed up and down a pillar and ran around the ticketing machines before taking refuge on top of a train information board for two hours, a spokeswoman for railway operator Tokyu Corp said.

The police attempts to capture the monkey with nets can be seen in the news report videos below.

FTV’s coverage:

ATVs coverage:

NTV’s coverage (via Pink Tentacle):

Footage from somebody’s camera (via Q-Taro)

The monkey proved to be very fast, and eventually made his escape by climbing up on the the Yamanote Line tracks and bolting out of sight. According to an expert interviewed by FTV, the monkey appeared to be about 7 years-old and is likely to have originated in the Okutama area. Some believe that the monkey seen in Shibuya today may have been the same monkey sighted earlier this month in Koganei and Setagaya-ku.

[hat tip to Mark]