Videos of a tiny monkey in a local zoo in Japan clutching a stuffed orangutan after he was abandoned by his mother have become an unlikely viral sensation online, with millions of people around the world rooting for him.
Punch, a young Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture, first captured attention after recent heartbreaking videos taken by visitors showed him wandering his enclosure clutching the stuffed animal.
Rejected by his mother and struggling to integrate with other monkeys, Punch was often filmed being chased, being pushed away or hiding alone while hugging the plush that zookeepers gave him as a substitute for his mother.