On Feb. 19, 2026, a video of a macaque named Punch had gone viral showing Punch’s struggles of his life at the zoo, as well as his perseverance. The macaque is located at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.

According to The Guardian , Punch is a seven month old Macaque born on Jul. 26, 2025 at the Ichikawa City Zoo. Punch was abandoned by his mother at birth. Zoo staff had bought Punch an orangutan plush to help comfort him through hard times. Ever since, Punch has been relying on the plush as a comfort method to substitute for a parent’s love.

At the zoo, Punch had been filmed getting dragged around and chased by the older macaques. This was a common tradition in the social hierarchy for the macaques, which was meant for Punch to fit in with the group. However, it didn’t seem as if he met the customs.

According to People, a recording had shown Punch getting aggressively dragged around by a larger macaque. Punch hid behind a rock for safety with the comfort of his orangutan plush. The internet saw these videos and noticed how Punch always carried around his plush, as it seemed the stuffed animal was the closest thing to a comforting parent for him.

Because of this, many on the internet had gathered together to bring support for Punch. Many online have shown their affection and support for him, even buying the exact orangutan plush from IKEA that Punch can be seen carrying around. Many IKEAs across the globe have also shown support on social media site “X” for the little macaque. Reportedly, some visitors had even given Punch gifts whenever they visited his exhibit. IKEA had given a large donation of  large orangutan plushes similar to the original to help Punch get through these hard times.

With a single video, he had gained the hearts of many with his strong determination to be accepted by the troop and his orangutan plush, which many online found cute and had made many fan art, videos, or other forms of media to show support.

According to CBS, Punch has started to begin making friends in the group showing signs of acceptance in the rank, with some of the macaques grooming Punches hair and helping pick out lice, or playing with the other macaques. 

Punch the macaque isn’t just a macaque who wants to fit in, it’s the story of acceptance and the journey of bonding with others through many trials and support.