Scattering all over the internet with millions of views across all platforms is the heartbreaking story of a lonely monkey named Punch. However, these videos don’t depict the whole story, so who really is this tragic monkey?

Punch is a seven-month-old Japanese macaque who was abandoned by his mother at birth.

Punch was born in July 2025 and shortly after was abandoned by his mother. He was discovered by zookeepers in the “Monkey Mountain” enclosure all by himself.

On January 19, 2026, the zoo began working to acclimatize Punch back into an enclosure. To support this goal, the zookeepers tried various substitutes for his mother to put into the enclosure with Punch. They tried rolled-up towels, many stuffed animals, and eventually landed on an orange orangutan plush from Ikea named “Ora-Mamma.”

Punch was later placed into the enclosure and was faced with what the public would call “bullying.”

Many videos have circulated online of Punch’s interactions with the other monkeys, who seem to want to have nothing to do with him. The other monkeys hit him, chase him, bite him, and do not allow him to enter their safe spaces, like their shelters when it is raining.

After continuous unsuccessful interactions with the other monkeys, Punch’s only companion seemed to be his little orangutan stuffed animal.

Punch also has a human friend named Kosuke Shikano, who is a zookeeper. Around feeding times, the monkey enclosure becomes more crowded as the public adores Punch, who clings to the zookeeper’s leg until he leaves.

However, in early March, the public and the zookeepers began to notice Punch with a real monkey instead of his stuffed animal. The adult monkey, Go-Chan, who also has a history of being bullied, has been seen befriending Punch.

To this day, Punch has integrated into a larger group of monkeys, lowering the public’s interest in him and allowing him to become an ordinary monkey.