Punch, a Japanese macaque monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, was abandoned by his mother last summer and for weeks had just one friend, a small, orange orangutan plushie.
After the small primate’s plight was introduced to the internet, people around the world rallied around him. He has slowly started to make friends with the other monkeys in his habitat and is no longer as lonely as he once was, per NBC.
The saga of Punch the Monkey
Punch, whose name in Japanese is Panchi-kun, was born in July 2025. In a post on X in January, the zoo wrote that he “was rescued from being abandoned and raised through hand-rearing.”
Shunpei Miyakoshi, an animal keeper at the zoo, named Punch after a famous Japanese cartoonist, Kazuhiko Kato, who was known as Monkey Punch.
According to The New York Times, Punch was likely abandoned by his mother because of a difficult labor during a heat wave. After being nursed for months by the zoo’s staff, in January, he was reintroduced to the other monkeys at the zoo’s enclosure named monkey mountain.
At first, Punch had a difficult job integrating with the other animals, and videos and photos started circulating the internet of Punch playing alone or getting swatted away by adults when he tried to approach other monkeys.
But Punch wasn’t completely alone in monkey mountain,. The staff had given him a now-iconic stuffed orangutan toy meant to help him build muscle strength. He dragged the stuffed animal around the enclosure, cuddling, tugging and playing with it.
The photos and videos of Punch went viral, with legions of people around the world showing support and love for the monkey. The zoo even started a hashtag for him, #HangInTherePunch, which helped put him in the global spotlight.
Though it has taken time, the now 6-month-old monkey has started to gain confidence and make friends with the other monkeys.
Recently shared videos have featured Punch interacting with the other monkeys. He has been seen climbing on the back of another monkey, sitting with the adults, getting groomed and even receiving a hug. These are all signs that he is learning how to make friends.
“Punch is gradually deepening his interactions with the troop of monkeys!” the zoo wrote in an X post on Feb. 6. “He’s getting groomed, playfully poking at others, getting scolded, and having all sorts of experiences every day, steadily learning how to live as a monkey within the troop!”
Takashi Yasunaga, who leads the Ichikawa municipal government’s zoo and botanical gardens division, wrote an email to The New York Times saying that when Punch was first introduced to the other monkeys last month, he was wary of them.
He is now acclimating and has “an active and fearless personality,” Yasunaga wrote. He added that Punch will “proactively try to communicate with other monkeys.”
Punch’s mother is also at monkey mountain. Yasunaga said it’s not uncommon for some Japanese macaques to abandon their babies for a variety of reasons.
Punch has drawn attention from Stephen Colbert and Ikea
Punch has become known for dragging around his plush orangutan, which is a toy from Ikea. The monkey’s notoriety has gained attention from the global company.
Petra Fare, the president of Ikea Japan, even visited the zoo on Feb. 17 to donate plenty of the plushies to Punch, making sure he always has one. Fare also gave Punch other toys, per The New York Post.
Punch’s stuffed orangutan is Ikea’s popular djungelskog soft toy. The toy’s description says that the plushie can hang on people’s hips or backs “just like how real apes climb and hang in the rainforest trees.”
Other Ikea stores around the world have also recognized Punch.
“Mother, yes, there’s more than one. And PUNCH!” a post from Ikea Spain advertising the toy said.
Ikea Switzerland posted a photo of Punch hugging the stuffed animal, saying, “Sometimes, family is who we find along the way.”
Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show,” has also joined in on the conversation about Punch.
“After his mom abandoned him — she said she was going out for a pack of bananas, I’m sure she’ll be back — Punch struggled to make friends with other monkeys in the exhibit, which is why they gave him the stuffed orangutan, and now he takes it everywhere,” Colbert said during Wednesday’s show.
Colbert even purchased his own djungelskog toy and had it with him during the episode.
“You’ll never leave me right, djungelskog?” he said.
The love people have shown to Punch the monkey
“My mission in life now is to rescue Punch from the horrible monkeys he’s with and make him my baby,” wrote one user on X when the videos of Punch being alone first started circulating.
Not only has Punch been receiving plenty of love online, thousands of people have been visiting the zoo to see Punch and show him support. Last weekend, over 8,000 people visited the zoo, which is more than double the amount of visitors on the same Saturday and Sunday last year. More people are expected to visit Punch again this weekend.
On Feb. 15, the zoo wrote on X to share its “heartfelt gratitude” to the “the unprecedented and unexpected crowds” who have come and shown love to Punch.
People have continued to post about Punch and use the hashtag #HangInTherePunch to show their support of the monkey.
“Stop showing me that little monkey being bullied by other monkeys I know he finally got a hug from one but I am not in a mental place to see it I will fly to Japan and beat up the mean monkeys,” wrote another X user.
“We, as a society, should create a panchi-kun protection squad,” wrote another person on X.