Following the Internet fame of Japanese stars Shironeko the cat, and Shunsuke the dog, a "pocket monkey" named Wukong has recently been gaining online popularity in China, the Yangtse Evening Post reports.

Wu Kong [File Photo / Sina.com.cn]

Wukong's popularity began when his keeper, Wang Wenqing uploaded cute pictures on Weibo.com of the monkey slurping a soft drink in a KFC on Children's Day. The pictures were an Internet hit, but also drew controversy.

Wang, who lives in Zhenjiang, in east China's Jiangsu Province, said he bought Wukong in Japan in May through a friend of his.

It is rare to keep a monkey as a pet in China and some Internet users said Wukong could pose a danger as a pet. Monkeys are good at imitating human behavior and some people warned that it would be risky if Wukong began playing with kitchen knives, lighters or a stove.

Tan Jingzhi, a doctor of evolutionary anthropology at America's Duke University, wrote an article posted on the popular science websites Songshuhui.net and Guokr.com, which pointed out six potential risks in keeping monkeys as pets.

They include violating animal-protection laws, the potential for human-animal bacterial infection, smuggling wild animals and the potential of being attacked by the monkey.

The official microblog of the Jiangning branch of Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau, which first posted the question of whether keeping a monkey as a pet is legal, reminded the public that all primates are on China's protected animal list, and that keeping one without a proper certificate is illegal.

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