Punch, the baby Japanese macaque, and his stuffed companion, an orange orangutan, have become quite the popular duo among visitors at a Japanese zoo and on social media.
Why was baby Punch abandoned?
He was born seven months ago at the Ichikawa City Zoo. His mother, who was 4 years old at the time, abandoned him due to complications during his difficult birth, according to Reuters and The New York Times.
Baby Japanese macaques need their mothers during the early stages of their lives to build muscle strength and a sense of security, but baby Punch was on his own. He needed something to fill the void of his mother.
After noticing this, zookeeper Kosuke Shikano said other animal caretakers at the facility quickly sprang into action to help Punch. They used alternatives like rolled-up towels and other stuffed animals before choosing the orange orangutan from IKEA as Punch’s new best friend.
“This stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold,” Shikano said, per Reuters. “We thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on, and that’s why we chose it.”
Social media users on Punch: ‘I suggested we go see Punch together’
Punch and his stuffed companion are inseparable. He now lives in the zoo’s Monkey Mountain enclosure, where he hugs, tugs and drags the toy wherever he goes.
The workers at the zoo have since shared heartwarming posts on social media, featuring Punch and his cuddly stuffed animal, along with the hashtag #HangInTherePunch. The pair quickly became an internet sensation, with many planning to visit the zoo.
“Seeing Punch on social media, abandoned by his parents but still trying so hard, really moved me,” 26-year-old nurse Miyu Igarashi told Reuters. “So when I got the chance to meet up with a friend today, I suggested we go see Punch together.”
Punch and his stuffed animal led to an uptick in zoo visitors
Some believed Punch’s mother had abandoned him due to the heat wave around the time of his birth. When he was reintroduced to Monkey Mountain in January, he was all alone with no one to turn to for guidance.
He had a difficult time integrating with the other monkeys at the facility and mostly stayed with other zookeepers or by himself. However, Takashi Yasunaga, who leads the Ichikawa municipal government’s zoo and botanical gardens division, told The New York Times that Punch has shown improvement alongside his best friend and is doing better.
According to Yasunaga, Punch has an “an active and fearless personality,” and will “proactively try to communicate with other monkeys.”
Punch and the stuffed orange orangutan have inspired thousands of people to visit the Ichikawa City Zoo. Yasunaga said the number of visitors has more than doubled and that more are expected soon.
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