Punch the Monkey Was Abandoned and Bullied—Then an IKEA Toy Changed Everything
Abandoned at birth, Punch the monkey found comfort in an IKEA plush—and the world
You know that feeling when you see something online and your heart just cracks wide open?
That’s what’s happening right now with Punch, a tiny Japanese snow monkey whose story of abandonment, an unlikely stuffed animal, and a tidal wave of global love has taken over social media.
If your feed has been full of an adorable baby monkey clinging to a plush orangutan, here’s the full story behind those videos—and fair warning, you’re going to need tissues.
A rough start for an adorable little guy
Punch—whose real name is Panchi-kun—is a male Japanese macaque born at the Ichikawa City Zoo on July 26. Almost immediately, his life took a heartbreaking turn: his mother abandoned him.
Zookeepers stepped in to hand-rear the baby. Zookeeper Kosuke Shikano, who spoke with Reuters on Feb. 20, explained the challenge they faced.
“Japanese baby macaques typically cling to their mothers to build muscle strength and for a sense of security,” Shikano told the outlet.
Without his mom, Punch needed something to hold on to. The zoo tried rolled up towels and several stuffed animals, but nothing worked as a fitting substitute. The little monkey just couldn’t settle.
Then the zookeepers had one more idea.
They handed Punch a stuffed orange orangutan sold by IKEA. And it worked.
“This stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold,” Shikano told Reuters. “We thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on, and that’s why we chose it.”
The image of this tiny, vulnerable baby clinging to a plush orangutan was exactly the kind of content the internet didn’t know it needed.
Videos shared by the zoo show Punch barely letting go of his stuffed companion—the kind of clips that stop your scrolling thumb in its tracks.
The internet rallies around Punch the monkey
As if the abandonment story wasn’t enough to break your heart, one particular video showed the baby monkey being bullied by other monkeys in the troop.
That’s when people around the world collectively decided to rally behind him.
On X (formerly Twitter), users began sharing the hashtag #がんばれパンチ, which loosely translates to “HangInTherePunch.” It became a rallying cry—a global community of supporters cheering on a baby monkey they’d never met.
Punch also gained a fanbase, showing up in person. In fact, so many visitors traveled to the zoo that the staff was caught off guard.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all visitors who came to the park today,” the zoo wrote in a separate X post. “The staff is greatly surprised by the unprecedented and unexpected crowds we experienced.”
People across time zones became emotionally invested in the daily life of one small macaque. The phenomenon went from niche zoo content to a worldwide conversation.
IKEA stepped up in the best way
Here’s where the story gets even sweeter.
On Feb. 17, Ichikawa City Mayor Ko Tanaka announced on X that Petra Fare, president and chief sustainability officer of IKEA Japan, donated a “huge number” of similar stuffed animals to the zoo in honor of Punch.
IKEA Japan’s chief sustainability officer personally made sure Punch would never run out of cuddle buddies.
IKEA USA’s official Instagram account joined in, too.
“We’re ALL Punch’s family now,” they wrote in a post alongside a photo of the stuffed animal. “Sometimes, family is who we find along the way,” the company added in the photo.
It was the kind of brand moment that felt genuinely earned — riding a wave of organic, heartfelt internet love rather than trying to manufacture one.
Punch the baby monkey is finding his way
The best part? Punch is making real progress.
With each passing day, he’s building his connections with the other monkeys, and zookeepers have hope that he will have the support he needs inside the troop.
“I think there will come a day when he no longer needs his stuffed toy,” Shikano told Reuters.
The Ichikawa City Zoo has been keeping followers updated, and the reports are genuinely encouraging.
“Punch is gradually deepening his interactions with the troop of monkeys!” the zoo wrote on X. “He’s getting groomed, playfully poking at others, getting scolded, and having all sorts of experiences every day, steadily learning how to live as a monkey within the troop!”
Getting groomed. Poking at others. Getting scolded. Punch is finally getting to be a regular kid.
Why this little monkey captured millions of hearts
Punch’s arc—abandoned, struggling, bullied, but slowly finding his way with the help of an unlikely comfort object and a wave of global support — is the kind of underdog story we all root for.
As one X user put it, Punch is “proof that even in the toughest starts, love (and a good cuddle buddy) wins.”
Everyone needs a friend. Punch found one in a stuffed IKEA orangutan — and then found millions more in the strangers cheering him on from every corner of the internet.
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