Děčín Zoo reopens despite escaped monkeys still on the loose

The Děčín Zoo is open for visitors again today after being closed on Tuesday due to the escape of monkeys from their enclosure. The escape happened after someone damaged the electric fence; some of the escaped crested macaques have not yet been caught.

Police have arrested the possible perpetrator who is suspected of damaging the fence. Still, zookeepers urged the public in a message posted on social media to be cautious and inform the zoo of the monkeys' movement.

A group of monkeys escaped from the enclosure, with six getting off the premises. Police are investigating a man suspected of damaging an electric fence, through which the animals escaped. Two of the nine-member group of crested macaques were captured, while one monkey remained on the zoo grounds.

Czech police received a call from Děčín officers that they were searching for an unknown person who had damaged the electric fence of the monkey enclosure after closing time at the zoo, at around 9 p.m. on Monday. About half an hour later, the officers tracked down the suspect. Police subsequently detained the 42-year-old man and placed him in a police cell. He tested positive for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

The incident sparked a number of reactions from social media users who made light of the situation by posting modified images of the primates alongside Děčín landmarks. One of them claimed that an upside-down monkey was captured by one of the city's webcams.

One of the photos included Naruto, a crested macaque in Indonesia, who became famous worldwide after snapping several selfies of himself in 2011 with a camera belonging to a photographer on assignment in Indonesia, which led to a copyright claims trial, according to CNN.