Punch the monkey: Punch-Kan, a viral baby monkey, has gained the sympathy of social media like no other trend. A resident of the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, the macaque has found comfort in an orange plus orangutan toy after facing violent rejection from its biological mother.
A viral video on social media showed his mother strangling him and dragging him around. Trying to escape from her, the baby monkey runs away towards a soft toy, clutching it and trying to find calm in the chaos. Born in July, clips of the seven-month monkey have gone viral since.
This comes after a lonesome penguin from the Arctic went viral and was labelled as ‘nihilistic‘. Triggering a conversation on the growing loneliness and how a large number of people started to relate to the penguin’s wandering off as escapism.
‘Get him out of there’: Internet rallies for Punch’s support
Punch’s story has touched several hearts on the Internet. While some support that he must be brought outside or separated from his clan to prevent physical harm, others took the conversation to a philosophical turn. “Punch’s story proves that belonging isn’t guaranteed just because you’re surrounded by your own kind,” wrote a user on X (formerly Twitter).
At the same time, several netizens demanded that the authorities ‘get him out of there.’ As several videos surface online, they show how the zookeepers are sensitive toward Punch and how the baby monkey clings on to the plush toy, even while being fed. Some updates even report that as he continues to find friends inside the arena, other monkeys continue to bully him.
“I think I’m gonna have to mute Punch because I keep getting depressed, my heart genuinely breaks for this little monkey,” shared a user. “I genuinely might have to put down the phone and go for a walk because I’m so overwhelmed with these developments over punch, the monkey,” felt another.
“Feeling sad for Punch, they are literally bullying that little monkey,” wrote many netizens as they urged the zookeepers to take restorative action.
Heart wrenching scene🚨: Little Punch was bullied again by a bigger monkey, who dragged her harshly across the ground. She cried and ran back to clutch her adoptive mother doll for comfort
— All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) February 20, 2026
Did Punch finally get accepted?
At the same time, some videos also claim that Punch has finally been accepted by some other adult monkeys and has received some support from them. However, other viral videos are being generated by AI, but are gradually disturbing a large section of users online.
A user shared a video showing a monkey embracing a younger one, who is reportedly Punch. “Adult monkey Onsig wraps little Punch in a tight embrace,” captioned the video. However, the claims made by the user cannot be verified.
How did the Japan zoo respond?
In a statement shared by PopBase, the Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens issued a statement, which shared that they were aware of such a threat to Punch. However, they acknowledged that there have been several incidents where the baby monkey has been bullied and scolded by other adult monkeys, but they haven’t caused him serious physical harm. At the same time, they reportedly said that Punch shows ‘resilience and mental strength’ when other adults display disciplinary behaviour toward him, when he tries to communicate with them. In the end they wrote, “We would like you to support Punch’s effort, rather than feel sorry for him.”
Ichikawa Zoo addresses the video of Punch getting attacked by an older monkey in his troop:
“The adult monkey that dragged Punch is probably the mother of the monkey with whom Punch tried to communicate. She probably felt that her baby was annoyed by Punch and got upset.” pic.twitter.com/mUeOtiPPfL
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 20, 2026
Why does maternal rejection happen?
Maternal rejection usually arises when the biological offspring is pushed away, neglected, bitten, or abandoned by its parents. A biological case of evolution, the parent usually favours the viable offspring or the weaker sibling is either overpowered by the stronger one.
A study on macaques, like Punch, titled ‘Early Maternal Rejection Affects the Development of Monoaminergic
Systems and Adult Abusive Parenting in Rhesus Macaques’ from 2006, published in the Behavioural Neuroscience journal of the American Psychological Association, revealed that abused or rejected mothers often reciprocate the behaviour on their offspring. Low levels of oxytocin and high cortisol also represents itself in this way.