&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Meet internet's new sweetheart: Punch, baby monkey who carries a plushie everywhere. THIS is his story")
While the internet can be a negative space, there are times when online communities can help make the world feel a bit brighter. This time, netizens are ralllying to assist an infant monkey shunned by its mother. The internet has fallen in love with a six-month-old Japanese macaque at Japan's City Zoo. Punch the monkey (Panchi-kun in Japanese) is now all over the internet after videos and pics of him dragging around an orangutan plushie went viral. This is Punch's story.
Who is Punch the macaque?
Punch, born July 2025, is a Japanese macaque born to a first-time mother who rejected him. According to Mainichi Shimbun, citing the Zoo staff, maternal rejection can occur in inexperienced mother who struggle to establish a bond with their offspring.
The now-viral primate was born healthy, but after being rejected by his mother, he was in a vulnerable state. Because of this, zookeepers Kosuke Shikano and Shumpei Miyakoshi started hand-rearing Punch.
Why does Punch carry a plushie?
As babies, macaques depend on their mothers for warmth, reassurance, and physical development. Without this physical contact, young monkeys can develop psychological stress and experience social difficulties. To avoid this, the zoo staff got Punch substitutes, including rolled towels and soft toys.
Eventually, Punch the monkey got attached to the orangutan plushie, which he now carries with him everywhere. The zookeepers compare the plushie to a "surrogate mother" for the emancipated monkey.
He’s just a baby
Punch has since been reintroduced to his own kind, but often gets scolded by the other monkeys. Due to this, he would often retreat to his trusted plushie, even hiding behind it. Videos of his heartbreaking behaviour soon went viral online, with people showing up in droves to see the little monkey.
Punch soon became an online phenomenon with thousands of shares with the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
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Recently, a video of Punch being dragged around by an adult monkey went viral. The video appears to have been taken in the morning of February 19th, clarified the zoo.
The Ichikawa Zoo, in a statement on X, explained that "It seems that the monkey who dragged Punch down this time was the mother of the baby monkey with whom Punch was trying to communicate. The mother probably thought that her baby monkey had been treated badly, and thought to Punch, 'Don't do such mean things to your baby monkey'."
After Punch went viral, IKEA Japan’s president visited him and donated multiple replacement plushies to ensure that the little monkey continues to have comfort as he gradually integrates with his troop.
