The internet has fallen in love with Punch, the 7-month-old macaque who clings to a stuffed animal for comfort. So when a video (since deleted) surfaced showing him being dragged across the ground by another monkey inside his enclosure at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, people online panicked.
Clips spread rapidly across social media this week, with viewers accusing the other monkeys of abusing him. People demanded answers. Some accused the zoo of negligence. Others declared the other monkeys bullies.
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But according to Ichikawa City Zoo, what people saw wasn’t cruelty. It was socialization.
In a statement published to X on Feb. 20, first in Japanese and then translated to English, the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Gardens addressed the viral video directly.
Zoo keepers said Punch had approached another baby monkey in an attempt to interact. The baby avoided him. An adult monkey — likely the baby's mother — then intervened, dragging Punch away.
The behavior may look harsh to human eyes. But for macaques, it's part of establishing boundaries.
"She probably felt that her baby was annoyed by Punch and got upset," the zoo wrote, describing the interaction as a form of discipline, not aggression.
Importantly, keepers said Punch was not injured. After the incident, he returned to his stuffed toy briefly — then resumed interacting with the other monkeys. "No single monkey has shown serious aggression toward him," the zoo said.
But the internet isn't watching Punch as a zoologist would. It's watching him like a fan.
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Punch's story has unfolded almost entirely online. People first met him through viral videos showing him clinging to a plush toy after being rejected by his biological mother. They projected onto him immediately: loneliness, vulnerability, resilience. They rooted for him.
So when a video appeared that seemed to confirm their worst fears — that he was being rejected again, and violently so — the reaction was visceral. They wanted to protect him. That emotional investment is part of what makes viral animal stories so powerful. And so volatile.
Online, animals often become characters in narratives that people build themselves. Every interaction becomes a plot point. Every setback feels personal. But those narratives don't always reflect reality.
Punch is still learning how to be a monkey. And according to the zoo, Punch's difficult interactions are part of a gradual process of integrating him into the troop.
He was hand-raised after his mother abandoned him. That saved his life. But it also meant he missed out on early social bonding. Now, he’s learning. That process includes rejection, correction, and trial and error.
It also includes progress. The zoo said Punch continues to communicate with other monkeys and shows resilience. Videos posted after the incident show him moving freely within the enclosure and being groomed by other adult monkeys in the troop. So instead of feeling sorry for the little guy, the Ichikawa City Zoo is asking Punch's online admirers to support his efforts.
He still carries his stuffed animal. But he doesn't always need it.
