After being abandoned by his mother, newborn macaque Punch went viral online for his sweet demeanor and favorite plush toy.
Born last July, Punch was left alone soon after birth, leading him to be taken in by the Ichikawa City Zoo. Until January, the young macaque was nursed back to health away from his enclosure. Afterward, he was released back into the habitat, where he struggled to integrate with the other monkeys.
To help with Punch’s newfound independence, zookeepers gave the baby monkey a plush toy to symbolize a friend.
Zoo officials say the plush toy is meant to help Punch adjust.
In a recent article, Shigekazu Mizushina, director of Ichikawa City Zoo, hopes Punch will eventually grow out of the plush toy as he becomes more independent.
The viral videos even caught the attention of Mount students.
“I think it’s really sad that he was abandoned,” Samantha Meltz ‘27 said. “I love him, and I want to adopt him.”
Clips of Punch hugging his plush toy circulated online, drawing widespread support. The clips, seemingly released by the zookeepers, led social media users to keep up with the monkey’s life.
The videos sparked emotional reactions from viewers.
Animal lovers also expressed anger at clips of other monkeys treating Punch harshly, leaving Punch to run back to his plush toy for comfort. Showing support, users began using the trending hashtag “#JusticeForPunch.”
“I think he’s really cute and I think that it’s really sad how the other monkeys are treating him,” Alex Kovach ‘26 said.
“I think the monkey that hurt Punch maybe should be isolated because he seems like a threat and not doing well in a shared environment,” Riley Brady ‘27 said.
In a study published by PubMed Central (PMC) — an archive of biomedical and lifestyle research run by the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine — researchers Junzi Zheng, Su Tao, and Wenchong Du developed hypotheses and conducted experiments as to why animal videos are so popular.
“This study demonstrates that engagement with online animal videos is associated with reduced feelings of loneliness, and that this relationship is mediated by emotional attachment to the animals portrayed, what we term cyber-mediated animal attachment,” researchers said.
The young macaque’s story has even reached popular culture.
Punch has been widely discussed in recent months, even appearing in a skit on Saturday Night Live and on the Roku City screen. 
However, the anger towards the monkey’s bullies quickly turned to skepticism online as videos of Punch with a new (living) monkey friend began appearing.
TikTok user who uses the handle @emilie.x97 said, “To his new friend, I’m watching you,”
While others are concerned Punch’s friend is “after his fame now,” TikTok user @jodiopng said.
Nonetheless, audiences are happy to watch the young macaque grow up.
“He’s so cute,” Jaiel Coles ‘27 said. “I felt so bad in the beginning, but now he has a friend. I feel like it’s so adorable, and so cute.”
“He’s cuddly, and he’s got a cute little monkey friend,” Joao Gomes, dean of studies, said. “Also everything sucks generally. So, anything cute that everyone can agree is cute is good for the soul of the world.”
