An adorable little monkey named Punch has won the heart of web users after being abandoned, clutching a stuffed animal like a human child.
Who Is Punch The Monkey?
Punch (Punch-kun) is a baby macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba, Japan. Born in July 2025, Punch was rejected by his mother, and seemingly, the rest of his macaque tribe.
Bullying, it seems, is not a human invention—clips and images of Punch being attacked by older macaques began to be shared across social media, making commentators emotional (and igniting genuine rage against the offending monkeys).
When it comes to adorable animal clips, it doesn’t take much for the internet to slide into anthropomorphism, but in this case, it’s hard not to relate to Punch’s plight.
The little monkey resembles a furry human toddler, and the fact that he is often seen clutching his stuffed IKEA orangutan, clearly cuddling it for comfort, is genuinely heartbreaking.
The stuffed orangutan might be a poor substitute for a living, breathing mother, but for Punch, it seems to provide solace—many refer to it as “Ora-mama.”
Clips showing poor Punch struggling to find acceptance in the hostile environment of the macaque enclosure sparked big emotions.
Several commentators cracked jokes about arming the downtrodden monkey, or taking down his bullies with bullets, like an inverse echo of the 2016 Harambe meme.
Some of the clips are difficult to watch, especially as Punch appears to be attacked at random, but commentators with knowledge of macaque behavior posted assurances that the little monkey was earning his place in the hierarchy and would soon be accepted.
The tough upbringing of the aptly-named Punch inspired many supportive posts, memes and detailed fan art, many imagining the adorable monkey growing up to be a hardened warrior.
A few posted about the strangeness of the situation, reflecting on the fact that Punch has unknowingly won the heart of countless distant humans who have no real power to intervene.
The plight of Punch even made it all the way to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, with Colbert purchasing IKEA’s orangutan, Djungelskog, as a gesture of support.
Thankfully, Ichikawa City Zoo is posting regular updates, and Punch’s situation seems to be improving.
Things Are Looking Up For Punch The Monkey
Punch is slowly finding acceptance among the macaques, as clips of him being cuddled and groomed by his fellow monkeys can also be found online.
The good news sparked much relief and more jokes, with commentators implying that the need for violent intervention has subsided.
Clearly, many users needed a happy ending to this heart-wrenching tale, and it seems that the ordeal of Punch will pass.
Punch isn’t the first adorable zoo animal to become internet famous—in 2024, a baby pygmy hippo named Moo Deng became something of a celebrity simply for being plump and cute, and she didn’t even have to endure a tragic origin story like Punch.
Punch is a relatable outsider, rather like the Nihilistic Penguin, which went viral at the start of the year.
Animal avatars representing isolation, depression and the indomitable human spirit seem to be something of a theme in 2026—perhaps much of the internet is collectively going through something.
This story was originally published on forbes.com.
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