Punch the Monkey, a baby at Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo, went viral after bonding with a plush toy. Here’s why the internet can’t stop talking about him.

A baby monkey has received an outpouring of sympathy after footage showed him being bullied by a much bigger adult.

This sad story started in July 2025, when Punch the monkey was born. Sadly, his biological mother rejected him, which would have been a death sentence for the macaque in the wild. Thankfully, keepers at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan were on hand to help.

Social media users have rallied around the Japanese macaque, who found solace in an IKEA plush orangutan toy after he was rejected by his mom and troop.

Punch-kun, a baby macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo, became an internet star for his bond with an orangutan plush. There are many other zoo animals that became internet sensations

It’s not every day a story stops you mid-scroll, but this little guy is something else. Punch, a tiny monkey who lost his mom way too soon, has found comfort in the most unexpected place—a stuffed animal.