20 February,2026 11:52 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Punch the monkey
Humans have a soft spot for animals of all kinds, and looking at their pictures, or listening to their stories always brings joy to all of us. It also works the other way around when something bad happens to them, saddening us immediately.
Such has been the story of Punch the monkey, who has been going viral on social media, after photographs and videos of him sitting lonely with a stuffed toy went viral, making everybody around the world feel sorry for him, and wishing the best for him.
Punch is a 7 month-old male macaque monkey, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth.
He was reportedly born in July 2025, and is called 'Punchi-kun' in Japanese. He has been mixing with other macaques, but is still attached to his soft toy.
Pictures of Punch sitting time with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture in Japan went viral two days ago on social media.
After the story of the lonely monkey went viral, IKEA Japan has reportedly donated stuffed toys to help keep Punch company.
In 2025, Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo from Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo went viral on social media through photos that were shared by many people, and the zoo, leaving everybody fawning over the animal.
