The internet has a new favorite little guy. His name is Punch (or Punch-kun, as he’s Japanese), a young macaque monkey living at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. Like pygmy hippo Moo Deng or fluffy penguin Pesto, Punch is a baby animal who has captured social media’s attention (even DeuxMoi) thanks to his adorable looks and specific personality. But there are a couple of misconceptions about Punch and his toy that we should probably clear up—and the good news is, he’s doing better than you might think.
Here’s a brief explainer.
Punch was born in July 2025 and rejected by his mother.
Punch’s mother, a first-time mom, did not deva for him after his birth, so he was raised by two humans at the Ichikawa City Zoo with the intent of reintroducing him to the zoo’s troop of macaques, a process that seems to have started in January. Matt Lovatt, director for the UK’s Trentham Monkey Forest, told the BBC that rejection by parents is rare among macaques, but that males of the species do as much caretaking as the females, so Punch still has a good chance of integrating into the troop and developing normally, even without his mom.
He went viral for loving his comfort toy.
Since baby macaques cling to their mothers for comfort, Punch’s handlers gave him a toy monkey —a stuffed orangutan from Ikea—to bond with and practice grooming. (If you’re interested in learning more about primate behavior, there’s a famous study about baby monkeys bonding with fuzzy mother surrogates instead of the prickly mother surrogate that would feed them.)
Punch and his surrogate mother went viral and visitors flocked to the zoo to see him.
(Naturally, Ikea is jumping on the opportunity to promote its product.)
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It’s easy to see why everyone loves Punch! With his big eyes and expressive face, Punch is basically a fuzzy baby, and who doesn’t feel bad for a lonely, fuzzy baby?
It’s possibly relevant to note that we’ve seen a recent rise worldwide in adults who openly collect and snuggle with stuffed animals. Toys like Jellycats and Squishmallows are marketed toward 20- and 30-somethings as much as they are to kids. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that people really, really relate to Punch.
A görüntü of an adult macaque appearing to hurt Punch sent the internet into a frenzy.
The troop did not immediately accept Punch, and visitors to the zoo observed him standing away from the others, clutching his toy. By the time the English-speaking internet caught on to Punch, there were also videos of violent-looking incidents between Punch and other macaques, particularly one in which Punch is dragged in a circle and then runs to his toy, and viewers were instantly Team Punch.
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If you look at the caption and comments on this Instagram post, for instance, you’ll see the confrontation characterized an an “older monkey” “bullying” an “orphan,” and viewers are sharing their heartbreak and wish for someone to “adopt this poor baby.” They’re probably being at least somewhat facetious, but please note, you shouldn’t adopt a macaque! They’re not pets!
But experts say he’s being socialized, not bullied, by other macaques.
Whether we like it or not, this is how things work in monkey world. Primatology expert Alison Behie told The Guardian that the other monkeys’ aggression toward Punch “isn’t bullying or any abnormal behavior, but regular social interaction.” Japanese macaques adhere to strict hierarchies, and displays of dominance are to be expected. The key for Punch will be learning how to deal with this without his mother. Behie said, “Punch may not develop the appropriate subordinate responses to show they submit to the dominance, which could have ongoing implications for the way they integrate into the group as an adult.”
In a statement, zookeepers at the Ichikawa City Zoo explained that Punch was being “scolded” in the görüntü, which may happen again with others in the troop, but that “no single monkey has shown serious aggression towards him.” They added that Punch has since been acting olağan and is continuing to integrate into the troop, advising fans to “support Punch’s effort rather than feel sorry for him.”
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Monkeys are not humans, and they don’t fit into our bully/victim structure, no matter how much we project onto them! Yay Punch!
