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The internet is rooting for this abandoned baby monkey and his stuffed animal

A baby monkey at a zoo in Japan has found comfort in a stuffed animal. Now, the internet is rooting for him.

Crystal Bell

on February 17, 2026

Credit: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

There are some stories the internet collectively decides to care about.

This week, it's a little monkey named Punch.

Punch — or more colloquially, Punch-kun — is a baby macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Born in July 2025, he was rejected by his mother shortly after birth. In the wild, that would have meant certain death. At the zoo, where Punch was raised through hand-rearing, it meant something else: survival, and a substitute for the one thing zookeepers couldn't provide.

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A plush toy.

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In photos and videos that have now spread across X and Instagram, Punch rarely lets go of his stuffed orangutan doll. He clings to it while he sleeps. He carries it on his back. When he’s frightened or overwhelmed, he presses his face into it, as if trying to disappear. Unfortunately, the other monkeys in the enclosure haven't taken to Punch as warmly as the internet has, though he is making some strides.

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The images are almost unbearably tender. And online, people are responding in kind with adoring posts, support, and fan art of little Punch-kun and his stuffed toy.

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While little Punch has tugged on the internet's heartstrings, according to the Ichikawa City Zoo's social media accounts, he's still gradually being accepted by the other monkeys.

"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!" the zoo posted on Feb. 6. And his popularity in Japan is only growing, as hundreds of visitors flock to Ichikawa City for a glimpse of Punch and his stuffed orangutan (aka Oran Mama).

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If you can't get enough of Punch, you can follow the hashtag #がんばれパンチ, which roughly translates to "#HangInTherePunch," for more updates on the little guy.

But Punch's story is easy to understand without translation. In his tiny arms wrapped around a stuffed animal, people recognize something of their own — and the possibility that he, like them, will be OK.

Topics Animals X/Twitter

Crystal Bell

Digital Culture Editor

Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.

She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.

She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.