Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Japanese zoo sparks fury for naming baby monkey after royal newborn Princess Charlotte

The Takasakiyama Zoo has reportedly apologised over the decision

Heather Saul
Thursday 07 May 2015 13:16 BST
Comments
A Macaque eating a banana.
A Macaque eating a banana. (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Japanese zoo has reportedly apologised for naming a baby monkey Charlotte in honour of the second royal baby after receiving a number of complaints.

The Takasakiyama Zoo, in southern Japan, provoked anger when it announced the name of the female macaque monkey on Wednesday. The name had been chosen via a public vote, although with only 59 out of 853 people selecting it as their preferred name, it wasn’t quite an overwhelming majority.

The name sparked a backlash from some members of the public, who felt it was disrespectful to the royal family, according to the BBC.

The zoo issued an apology on its website, where it said it was now discussing other possible names.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in