The full story
Who's Punch?
A tiny monkey. A stuffed orangutan. A world that cares too much.
Punch was born on July 26, 2025, at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. His mother — a first-time parent — abandoned him the day after his birth. The zookeepers stepped in. They gave him a plushie. Then the internet found him. Now millions of people need to know, every single day, if this little guy is alright.
This is that site.
Species
Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) — snow monkey
Born
July 26, 2025
Location
Ichikawa City Zoo, Chiba, Japan
Named after
Monkey Punch, creator of Lupin the Third
Companion
IKEA Djungelskog stuffed orangutan
Zookeepers
Kosuke Shikano & Shumpei Miyakoshi
Troop joined
January 19, 2026
Went viral
February 5, 2026
Timeline
July 26, 2025
Born at Ichikawa City Zoo
Punch is born — the son of a first-time mother. The very next day, she abandons him. Zookeepers Kosuke Shikano and Shumpei Miyakoshi step in to hand-rear him.
Late July 2025
Gets his plushie
The keepers give Punch an IKEA Djungelskog stuffed orangutan to cling to — partly for comfort, partly to help him build the arm strength macaques normally develop by clinging to their mothers. He never lets it go.
August–December 2025
Growing up with the keepers
Punch grows up mostly in the care of zookeepers. He's healthy, curious, and deeply attached to his stuffed companion. Named after Monkey Punch, the beloved creator of Lupin the Third.
January 19, 2026
Joins Monkey Mountain
The big day. Punch is reintroduced to the zoo's troop of ~60 Japanese macaques on "Monkey Mountain." He arrives carrying his plushie. The troop is not immediately welcoming. The process begins.
February 5, 2026
Goes viral worldwide
Video compilations of Punch's first weeks — the falls, the rejections, the determined climbs — spread across TikTok, Instagram, and X. Tens of millions of views. #HangInTherePunch trends globally. He becomes a symbol.
Now
The daily drama continues
Every day, Punch wakes up on Monkey Mountain and tries again. Sometimes he's groomed. Sometimes he's chased off. The internet watches. This site keeps track.
Why does the internet care so much?
Japanese macaque troops have strict social hierarchies. An infant raised without a mother has no position, no advocate, no one to teach him the rules. Punch has to earn his place from scratch — every day, on camera, in front of sixty monkeys who didn't ask for a viral moment.
And he shows up anyway. With his plushie. That's the whole thing.
People project onto him — job rejections, social anxiety, starting over, feeling like you don't belong. He's a seven-month-old monkey. He doesn't know any of this. He's just trying to eat sweet potatoes and make friends.