A baby macaque named Punch, abandoned at birth in Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo, is being hand-raised by zookeepers and gradually introduced to other monkeys.
He clings to a stuffed orangutan for comfort, carrying it while sleeping, playing and socialising, which has gone viral online.
The story sparked emotional reactions and highlights how bonding and maternal rejection work in primate behaviour.
The Internet has gotten its new feel-good celebrity in the form of a six-month-old macaque named Punch whose video is going viral. In the video, the monkey is seen clinging to a stuffed orangutan in its comfort zone at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. The little one is seen holding its plush companion like a blanket in the clip while it goes on doing regular activities like sleeping, playing and even facing other monkeys.
Punch the monkey was reportedly born in July 2025, following which it was abandoned by his birth mother. The infant monkey was then carefully monitored by the zookeepers, who began raising him and also started introducing him to other macaques in the troop.
It is in the nature of newborn monkeys to cling to their mothers the moment they are born for warmth, safety and emotional bonding. As the motherly care was missing, caretakers introduced Punch to blankets and stuffed toys to ease his anxiety; as a result, it goes around hugging the toy as it interacts in a social setup. Some even observed that the young one uses the toy to shield himself from other monkeys who scold him or approach him.
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The young one was also successfully introduced to a group of macaques in mid-January. Punch has started interacting with them but keeps his stuffed companion by his side as he adjusts to his social life.
The video has garnered a lot of attention as it circulates online, triggering empathy among viewers. Many adored the little one and some even commented on the bonding that animals require to survive. One comment read, “looked like it had discovered the safest, warmest place in the world.” Some highlighted the importance of social bonding as they wrote, “how much social bonds matter across all species… sometimes family is whoever shows up.” There were even comments like “This makes me stop scrolling and wanna hug him.”
The scene may be heartbreaking to look at from an analytical perspective, but it is a common phenomenon where the wild shows maternal rejection. There may be several reasons for such behaviour, ranging from stress and environmental factors to surroundings and human presence that affect maternal behaviour. Sometimes, first-time mothers may fail to bond immediately with their young ones, leading to abandonment.
(SY)
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