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After months of clinging to a stuffed toy for comfort, the internet’s favorite baby macaque has finally been accepted by his troops in an amazing feat.
Viral baby Monkey Punch, who slept with an orangutan ‘plush toy’, has finally found a real family
At the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, a young monkey with a huge global fan club has found what he’s been looking for all along: a place to belong. Punch, the seven-month-old Japanese macaque who broke the internet’s heart by clinging to a stuffed orangutan, is officially trading in his stuffed animal for some real-life companionship.
After being rejected by his mother shortly after his birth in July 2025, Bunch was given a stuffed toy by park rangers to provide the warmth and security he was missing. Videos of the baby dragging Aura Mama everywhere, sleeping with her, hugging her and even using her as a shield sparked a wave of global affection under the hashtag #KeepGoingPunch.
Keep it up, Baby Bunch
The milestone came recently when park rangers witnessed a sight they had been hoping for since Punch was introduced into the Monkey Mountain enclosure in mid-January. Punch was seen grooming an older monkey, a behavior that, in the primate world, is the ultimate “welcome home” card.
Grooming is not just about cleanliness; It is a vital social glue that signifies trust and acceptance. For Punch, his setting meant he was no longer an outsider. Soon after, the zoo posted footage of him engaging in playful antics with other baby monkeys, climbing on their backs and even briefly putting down his popular toy to fool around with his new peers.
The human cost of care
While Punch’s reliance on “Ora-mama” was great, park rangers knew it was only a temporary solution. Reintroducing an orphan into a troop is notoriously difficult, as apes raised by humans often struggle with the complex social rules of their species.
Zookeepers Kosuke Shikano and Shompei Miyakoshi worked behind the scenes for months to ensure that Punch grew up hearing the sounds and smells of his collection. Even when Punch was “scolded” by the older monkeys during early introductions, his caretakers noticed his resilience. “He’s recovering quickly,” Miyakoshi noted. “He’s mentally strong.”
🇯🇵🥹 In a Japanese zoo, little monkey Punch, who had been clinging to a plush toy after being rejected by his mother, finally found a true friend. Zookeepers gave him a plush orangutan to replace his mother, but now he has finally found a friend who truly cares about him. pic.twitter.com/GpgLULkB7T
– Visegrad 24 (@Visegrad24) February 18, 2026
The story even caught the attention of IKEA Japan, which recently donated several stuffed animals to the zoo after fans identified “Ora-mama” as the brand’s popular orangutan toy. However, as heartwarming as the games were, the sight of Punch finally finding comfort in his kind is the ending everyone was rooting for.
Punch may have started his journey with a stuffed animal, but he ended it right where he belonged: in the arms of his troops.
20 February 2026 at 00:23 IST
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