Japan Zoo Names Baby Monkey After Royal Princess, Issues Public Apology

A zoo in Japan has apologised for naming a new monkey born this year, 2015, Charlotte, in honour of the newborn British princess. The zoo is now considering picking out a new name due to complaints from members of the public.

The female macaque was born on Wednesday at the Takasakiyma Nature Zoological Gardens, located in Oita Prefecture in southern Japan. Zoo officials announced on the same day that they had picked out the name Charlotte for the newborn monkey.

By tradition, the zoo invites the public to choose a name for the first monkey born this year. Charlotte was the public’s favourite pick since the birth of the royal baby has attracted wide media coverage in Japan.

However, after announcing the chosen name for the monkey, the zoo was bombarded with complaints, angry phone calls and emails from the public, reported Kyodo News. The public also demanded that a new name should be picked out.

The zoo officials said that complainants think it is rude to name a monkey after a member of the royal family. Kyodo News also said that the public asked the zoo what their reaction would be if a British zoo would do likewise and name one of their animals in honour of a member of the Imperial clan.

The views are now divided as there are also people who support the name Charlotte. The Telegraph reports that zoo official Akira Asano issued an apology that was posted on the zoo’s official Web site. “We deeply apologize for causing trouble to many people over the naming of the first baby monkey,” the statement reads.

That name Charlotte garnered 59 votes out of the 853 total votes. The name was chosen over the second popular pick “Elsa” from Disney’s “Frozen.”

Asano said that there were no complaints coming from members of the British public. Zoo officials and Oita city are currently discussing what name to pick out for the monkey.

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