Japanese macaque Punch turns 1, gets thousands of messages

A young Japanese macaque who became an international sensation after being photographed clinging to a stuffed orangutan for comfort celebrated his first birthday on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden. The monkey, named Punch, was flooded with thousands of well-wishing messages from fans worldwide, marking a remarkable recovery from his difficult start in life.

Punch was abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth last July, an event zoo officials believe was due to maternal exhaustion. To help the orphaned infant develop the gripping reflex essential for newborn macaques to survive, zookeepers provided him with an orangutan plush toy. The toy became his constant companion during months of intensive hand-rearing.

In mid-January, after six months of special care, Punch was introduced to the zoo's main monkey enclosure, home to approximately 50 other Japanese macaques. The transition was challenging; when other monkeys initially shooed him away, Punch would rush back to hug his plush toy for reassurance. In February, the zoo posted images of this poignant scene on social media, where they quickly went viral. The story of his "lone...