Viral baby monkey Punch gradually acclimating with other monkeys at Japan zoo
Punch, the lonely baby monkey who is capturing hearts on the Internet, is gradually acclimating with the other monkeys at a zoo in Japan.
According to The New York Times, Takashi Yasunaga, the head of the Ichikawa municipal government’s zoo and botanical gardens division, gave an update about Punch via email.
Yasunaga said the baby monkey is gradually acclimating to his home, and now has an "active and fearless personality." He sees Punch as "proactively [trying] to communicate with other monkeys" soon.
Named after popular Japanese cartoonist Kazuhiko Kato who went by "Monkey Punch," the little monkey was abandoned by his mother at birth. Per Yasunaga, it's not an uncommon case among Japanese macaques. He pointed out some factors that could have made Punch's mother abandon him: He was her first baby, and the weather was hot during his birth in July.
Punch was reintroduced to the troop in January at the "monkey mountain," where he had a hard time making friends. As seen in now-viral videos, he would get swatted away by other monkeys during his attempts, and would only find comfort in zookeepers who take care of him as well as a stuffed orangutan toy from IKEA.
Per the NYT report, Karin Blindh Pedersen, who leads IKEA’s children’s toy team, said in a statement that what matters most to the brand "is not that he holds on to our product, but that he is supported at his own pace—and that his soft toy friend can continue to help him cope until he is fully ready to let go."
Punch's predicament sparked sympathy on social media, with Internet users sending him love and posting about him with the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
Yasunaga shared that 8,000 individuals dropped by the zoo last weekend, which was twice the number of visitors on the same days last year. He added that more people are expected to be there over the coming weekend.
