Japan zoo’s lonely baby monkey Punch wins hearts, and even a few friends

Punch, a seven-month-old macaque, had no friends.

His mother abandoned him. He wasn’t quite fitting in with the other monkeys at Ichikawa City Zoo, outside Tokyo. The closest thing he had to loved ones were the zookeepers who look after him and a stuffed animal from Ikea.

But a series of widely shared posts showing his predicament – including a hashtag started by the zoo, #HangInTherePunch – have put him in the global spotlight and made him something of an internet celebrity.

Legions of fans from around the world have been cheering Punch on, welcoming him as a bright spot during intense current events. There’s little question as to why: Punch is adorable. And there are signs that he has started to gain confidence with the other monkeys.

Born in July at Ichikawa City Zoo, about 32km outside Tokyo, Punch was abandoned by his mother, most likely because of a difficult labour during a heatwave, according to zookeepers. He was nursed by staff.

Punch was reintroduced to the troop at the zoo’s monkey enclosure, called monkey mountain, in January, but without a mother to show him the way, he had a difficult time integrating. Videos showed him getting swatted away by adults when he tried to approach them, and frequently playing by himself.

“My mission in life now is to rescue Punch from the horrible monkeys he’s with and make him my baby,” one social media user wrote.

Punch wasn’t totally alone: He was given a now-famous stuffed orang utan toy to build muscle strength.

He cuddles, tugs and plays with the orang utan, dragging it around the monkey mountain like he would a best friend.

However, things may finally be looking up for young Punch.

Videos recently shared online show him climbing onto the back of another monkey, getting groomed, sitting with the adults and receiving a hug – all signs that he is finally learning how to make friends.

Mr Takashi Yasunaga, who leads the Ichikawa municipal government’s zoo and botanical gardens division, said via e-mail that Punch had been wary of the other monkeys when he was first introduced to them in January. But he is gradually acclimating.

Punch’s mother is with the others at monkey mountain, Mr Yasunaga said. It’s not uncommon for some Japanese macaques to abandon their babies for a number of reasons, he said. Punch was his mother’s first baby, and it was also very hot when he was born – factors that could have led to his abandonment.

But now, the little monkey has “an active and fearless personality”, Mr Yasunaga wrote, and will “proactively try to communicate with other monkeys”.

Punch is, no surprise, the star of the zoo.

About 8,000 people visited the zoo at the weekend, more than double the number of visitors on the same Saturday and Sunday in 2025, Mr Yasunaga said. More are expected this weekend.

Mr Shunpei Miyakoshi, an animal keeper at the zoo, told ANN News that baby monkeys cling to their mothers for security and to build muscle strength. The zoo tried rolled-up towels as a substitute, Mr Miyakoshi said, and even a giraffe. But Punch particularly liked the toy primate.

Mr Miyakoshi named him Punch after a famous Japanese cartoonist, Kazuhiko Kato, who went by the name Monkey Punch, he told news outlet Oricon.

Mr Kosuke Kano, another animal keeper at the zoo, told TBS News Dig that Punch almost immediately took to the stuffed animal, and it has now become his source of security. That was evident in a video that surfaced on Feb 19 of a senior macaque going after Punch, only for the little monkey to run away to be comforted by his plush toy.

The zoo has two versions of the toy and has received many other stuffed animals as gifts, including a batch from Ikea, where the toy is listed as a bestseller.

“Over the past few days, we have seen a clear increase in sales of the Djungelskog orangutan toy, particularly in Japan, the US and South Korea,” Ikea said in a statement, though the company would not say how many toys had been sold.

Ms Karin Blindh Pedersen, a leader on Ikea’s children’s toy team, said of Punch in a statement: “What matters most to us is not that he holds on to our product, but that he is supported at his own pace – and that his soft toy friend can continue to help him cope until he is fully ready to let go.” NYTIMES