Punch Monkeys: Abandoned macaque Punch finds comfort with his group at Ichikawa City Zoo
Punch, the young Japanese macaque who went viral after clinging to a stuffed orangutan, has begun to settle in with other monkeys at Ichikawa City Zoo — a small but visible shift in behaviour that zoo staff and primate experts have highlighted as important for his social development. The story of punch monkeys captured millions of online views when videos showed him dragging a soft toy around the enclosure and relying on human keepers early in life.
Punch Monkeys bonding at Ichikawa City Zoo
Punch was abandoned by his mother and initially struggled to bond with the other monkeys in his zoo's enclosure, relying on the company of his human keepers and the stuffed orangutan given to him as a substitute. Recent footage shows a change: one monkey gave him a hug and Punch was seen grooming others, actions that signal growing acceptance within the group at Ichikawa City Zoo.
Orangutan toy and early struggles
Zookeepers gave Punch a soft toy orangutan when he was very young, and videos that captured him dragging the toy and playing with it helped the clips go viral. During the first few months of his life, Punch had only his human keepers and that stuffed toy to rely on while he found it hard to bond with the rest of the enclosure.
Expert view: grooming builds friendships
Matt Lovatt, director for the UK's Trentham Monkey Forest, spoke to Breakfast about Punch's behaviour and highlighted grooming as a turning point. "It's been great to see him starting to groom, because that's the key way these primates can start to build up friendships with the monkeys within their group, " said Lovatt, who oversees the well-being of the Barbary macaques at a wildlife sanctuary near Stoke-on-Trent.
Video, related clips and how the item appeared online
The central clip of Punch has a running time noted as 00: 01: 22 under the title Viral monkey Punch rejected by mother given stuffed orangutan. The story was placed alongside a series of other short video items on the same page, each listed with its duration:
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Punch's change in behaviour — from clutching his stuffed orangutan to being hugged by another monkey and grooming peers — is visible in the recently shared footage and is the reason the clips resonated so widely online.
What happens next for Punch is unclear in the provided context; the material notes his growing interactions but does not specify any scheduled follow-up events or planned interventions at Ichikawa City Zoo.
