Punch The Monkey: Abandoned macaque at Ichikawa Zoo is making fans and friends
punch the monkey is a six-month-old macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan whose photos and clips of him with a stuffed orangutan toy have gone viral, prompting an outpouring of adoption requests and a rush of visitors to the zoo.
Punch The Monkey drew global attention after zoo post
The zoo posted Punch’s story on its X account asking visitors to "Please watch over Punch’s growth with warm support, " and images of the baby macaque cuddling a favorite stuffed orangutan circulated widely. The post explained that Punch’s mother rejected him at birth, leaving the six-month-old dependent on human keepers and his plush companion during his first months of life.
Brands, visitors and new monkey interactions
IKEA Japan, maker of the stuffed orangutan Punch favors, sent the zoo several more plushies after the viral attention. The social media wave produced widespread adoption requests and demands that Punch be given a monkey companion, and the zoo shared videos showing him hugging a fellow monkey and receiving his first grooming from a peer.
Footage of Punch parading his plush toy and images of him staring at the sky also circulated, and one clip captured another monkey pushing Punch away. The zoo posted photos of lines of visitors waiting to see him, showing an unexpected influx of fans arriving at the enclosure.
Comfort, curiosity and what visitors saw
Punch’s early reliance on human keepers and a stuffed orangutan was visible in the clips that sparked the online reaction: scenes of him cuddling the plush toy, being handled by keepers, and gradually interacting with other macaques. Videos the zoo shared documented a shift from solitary comfort with the stuffed toy to brief moments of in-group contact, including grooming from a peer.
The public response included both sympathy and skepticism, with some observers questioning whether certain shared images were generated by AI. Still, the practical outcomes were concrete: IKEA Japan supplied extra plush toys and the zoo received more visitors wanting to meet Punch in person.
The zoo has posted the initial plea on X and has continued sharing videos and photos that show Punch’s progress: the stuffed orangutan at his side, interactions with other macaques, and the lines of visitors who came to see him. Those updates remain the primary way the public has followed Punch’s story and his early steps toward social contact.
Visitors who want to see Punch can follow the zoo’s X account for the latest posts and visit the enclosure during regular visiting hours when the zoo opens to the public.
