What the Internet Got Wrong About Punch, the Viral Baby Monkey
The Internet has a new favorite little guy. His name is Punch (or Punch-kun, because he is Japanese), a young macaque monkey living at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. Like the pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng or the fluffy penguin Pesto, Punch is a baby animal that has caught the attention of social networks (even DeuxMoi) thanks to its adorable look and specific personality. But there are a few misconceptions about Punch and his toy that we should probably clear up – and the good news is that he’s doing better than you think.
Here is a brief explanation.
Punch was born in July 2025 and rejected by his mother.
Punch’s mother, a first-time mom, didn’t care for him after he was born, so he was raised by two humans at the Ichikawa City Zoo with the goal of reintroducing him to the zoo’s macaque troop, a process that appears to have begun in January. Matt Lovatt, director of the Trentham Monkey Forest in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that parental rejection is rare among macaques, but males of the species care as much as females, so Punch still has a good chance of integrating into the pride and developing normally, even without his mother.
He went viral for loving his comfort toy.
Since baby macaques cling to their mothers for comfort, Punch’s owners gave him a toy monkey – a stuffed orangutan from Ikea – with which he can bond and practice grooming. (If you’re interested in learning more about primate behavior, there’s a famous study about baby monkeys bonding with fluffy surrogate mothers instead of the prickly surrogate mother who would feed them.)
Anadolu/Getty Images
Punch and his surrogate mother went viral and visitors flocked to the zoo to see him.
Anadolu/Getty Images
