Punch the Macaque's Journey to Independence

0:00On March 5, a baby macaque named Punch has captured hearts worldwide at a zoo near Tokyo. This seven-month-old was rejected by his first-time mother right after birth, likely due to exhaustion during a heat wave and shunned by other monkeys. Zookeeper stepped in, nursing him and giving him a large Ikea plush orangutan toy to practice cleaning, a key skill for young macaques. Early videos showed Punch dragging the oversized toy around his enclosure for comfort after being chased away by adults. The images spread online last month, turning him into a social media star and drawing crowds to Ichikawa City Zoo. Visitors rushed to watch, prompting the zoo to enforce choir rules and cat-bearing at 10 minutes per group to ease stress on the roughly 50. Monkeys there. Lately, Punch is outgrowing his plush pow. He's spending less time with it, climbing on other monkeys' backs, sitting with adults, and even getting groomed or hugged by the group. Zookeeper see this as a big win toward his independence and acceptance in monkey society,

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