Punch the orphaned macaque finds comfort with an IKEA toy

Punch, an orphaned Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo, has become a viral sensation after clutching an IKEA stuffed orangutan as a comfort object; researchers note his behavior echoes decades of primate attachment studies.

Punch is a tiny Japanese macaque born in July 2025 who was rejected by his mother and is now being cared for at Ichikawa City Zoo. He has been photographed and filmed clutching a soft, stuffed orangutan from IKEA, and those clips have spread widely online. Viewers have responded strongly, and the toy reportedly sold out in several countries as the hashtag #HangInTherePunch trended. Scientists point out that Punch’s attachment to the plush echoes long-standing research on primate attachment and comfort. Key details: - Punch was born in July 2025 and was rejected by his mother; he is housed at Ichikawa City Zoo. - The zoo provided a stuffed orangutan toy from IKEA that Punch uses as a comfort object; videos show him clutching it and sleeping with it. - Viral footage prompted the hashtag #HangInTherePunch and reports that the toy sold out in shops from Tokyo to Seoul and the United States. - Researchers compare Punch’s behavior to classic studies, notably Harry Harlow’s 1959 work showing infant rhesus macaques preferred a cloth surrogate to a wire one that provided milk, and a 1975 study that documented distress when attachment objects were removed. - After introduction to the larger troop (called “Monkey Mountain”), some videos showed larger macaques chasing or confronting Punch; scientists note such interactions are consistent with Japanese macaque dominance hierarchies and social boundary-setting. - Recent visitor clips show Punch engaging in grooming and beginning to form tentative bonds with other monkeys, which are affiliative behaviors linked to social acceptance. Summary: Punch’s use of a plush as a comfort object has drawn broad public attention while also reflecting established findings in primate attachment research. Observations at Ichikawa City Zoo indicate he is negotiating social integration within a dominance-based troop and has begun to show affiliative behaviors; the longer-term course of his social development is undetermined at this time.