Over the years, there have been dozens of famous animals. Grumpy Cat and Moo Deng the hippo captured the hearts of many through the internet. Animals often become famous online due to being irresistibly cute or unique, like Punch the Monkey. Recently, a small Japanese macaque monkey named Punch (short for Punch-Kun) has made his mark on the public as well. Punch, a baby monkey, is about 12 inches tall and only a fraction of the size of an adult monkey. His big eyes are always full of baby emotions.
Punch’s story is different from other internet celebrity animals’ because it is sad, starting with him being abandoned by his mother and then being bullied by older monkeys. In one instance, he was grabbed by an older monkey and dragged around. Punch ran for cover to his precious orangutan stuffie. Those were times when he felt alone, not knowing there were thousands of people miles away who adored him, just from seeing a video of him. The internet was outraged, and many people wondered why monkeys would do that to a baby. Punch’s mother, who abandoned him, received a lot of criticism for it, including on an SNL skit.
The most famous thing about Punch was, of course, him carrying around a large orange Ikea stuffed orangutan and treating it like it was his mom.
Ko Saki, New York Times
The stuffie, called “Orange Mama”, acted as a comfort object for the young Japanese macaque while he faced daily conflicts with the other monkeys. He was often seen hiding behind the orangutan when he was chased by bullies, and grooming Orange Mama when the other monkeys were excluding him.
Punch’s origin story may sound like a villain origin story, but he turned out to be the opposite. He rose from the ashes like a phoenix and is better than ever before. Nowadays, Punch has made new friends and was even seen being adopted by an older monkey. Some people have shared opinions that his new friends might be “fake friends” – meaning they are unreliable allies who might still turn on him later. The social world of Punch is treacherous and hostile, but he prevails. He even stood up for himself when a monkey tried to slap him. When a monkey who seemed to be about his age ran at him, Punch stood his ground and yelled at the monkey, who then backed off. An older monkey nearby had witnessed this and surely felt impressed by the young monkey’s newfound courage. Punch is becoming stronger the more he grows up, which is important for his development. But, he still keeps the stuffed orangutan with him, even with his new real monkey friends.
Punch will not be a baby forever, and he will soon be able to properly defend himself. However, in monkey troops, there is a hierarchy of which monkeys can lead. Certain monkeys might hurt other monkeys, even babies, to assert themselves as the troop leaders. The dominant monkeys control food, space, and social interactions. The subordinate monkeys are often put in their place if the leaders think they’ve stepped out of line. Sadly, with nobody to guide him, Punch had to learn this the hard way. The internet has trouble understanding this and is still very worried for Punch which is understandable since his situation is disturbing from a human perspective.
Kim Kyung Hoon, ABC News
Human social rules would never allow this. However, the older monkeys are just following monkey code. In monkey society, dominant animals run the group, and the subordinate monkeys are expected to get out of the way, or they might get trampled. The dominant monkeys have no remorse when this happens because it’s simply their instincts. The monkeys can rarely and almost never climb up the ranks, and the dominant monkeys are born into their positions in the hierarchy, like a kingdom. The zookeepers know when it gets out of hand and will be able to protect Punch if it gets too violent.
Sometimes, if conditions become stressful, a mother macaque may abandon her child, like in Punch’s situation. Especially when it is her first baby, she may prioritize herself and future offspring when she feels the environment isn’t safe enough. Punch was born at the bottom of the monkey social hierarchy, an already stressful context for his mom. There was also a heatwave at the time of his birth, which may have caused Punch’s mom’s behavior. Still, Punch had a very difficult early life because of the abandonment, and he had nobody to protect him. If he’d had his mom, he’d have someone to show him how to act in order to avoid harsh attacks from higher-up monkeys.
The internet united to take Punch’s side when this story came out. He became an instant global phenomenon, and everyone was talking about him. The popularity also dramatically increased ticket sales for the zoo he resided at, Ichikawa City Zoo. The publicity also helped the zoo educate the public about Japanese macaques and their social hierarchies. Punch’s story reminds us that animal societies are more complicated and harsh, but even in the position Punch was born into, he was still able to make friends and thrive. Most importantly, Punch’s story shows us that there is always someone rooting for you, even if you don’t know it. Punch is an inspiration to us all.
