He’s the rejected monkey who has become the internet’s adopted animal baby. But while you cannot take Punch home, you can curl up with his companion — if you can find one in stock, that is.
Punch, a seven-month-old macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, has become a viral sensation after striking up a heart-wrenching relationship with an orangutan stuffed toy given to him as a substitute for his mother by the zookeepers who hand-raised him.
“Punch” the baby monkey and his plushie mom
Abandoned at birth in Ichikawa Zoo in Japan, this 6‑month‑old monkey found comfort in a stuffed orangutan – and won thousands of hearts online.
“Punch” the baby monkey and his plushie mom
0:29
Abandoned shortly after his birth last July, videos of the pint-sized primate — shunned and scolded by some of the other monkeys — dragging the plushie around his enclosure have led to a surging interest in Punch and, by extension, IKEA.
The Swedish flatpack giant is better known for its furniture than its fluffy toys but is the retailer behind the orangutan plushie and is now working to restock the stuffed animal that has sold out at stores across the globe after Punch fans flocked to snag the maternal model, nicknamed by some as “Ora-Mama.”
Part of IKEA’s Djungelskog (jungle forest) collection and priced at $19.99, the orangutan was sold out at all but five of the chain’s 54 US stores when CNN checked its website on Tuesday, with no more than two items left at any of those stores.
Only one of Japan’s 12 IKEA outlets showed the toy in stock, with the majority of UK stores either almost or entirely out of the product. Listings for the plushie have appeared on eBay at marked up prices.
“We are making sure that the toy is back in stock as soon as possible,” Javier Quiñones, global commercial manager for Ikea’s Ingka Group, said in a statement to The Washington Post last week.
“The toy has long been one of our most sought-after across markets, and the story from Japan is now giving it a little extra love.”
IKEA has embraced the monkey’s marketing potential, sharing an image of the stuffed toy on social media with the caption: “Sometimes, family is who we find along the way.”
In Malaysia, a portion of every plushie sale will be contributed to supporting orangutan conservation efforts in the country, the region’s IKEA page announced Monday.
The small Ichikawa zoo, roughly 15 minutes from the center of Tokyo by train, is also dealing with a spike in attention.
Long queues have formed on a daily basis to visit Monkey Mountain, with the zoo limiting front row viewing time to around 10 minutes and banning the use of selfie sticks to limit stress caused to Punch and the other macaques.
Roughly 9,600 visitors entered the zoo over the weekend, the zoo announced, with its total attendance figure for February – around 47,000 – more than double the previous year.
There’s been plenty of positive updates too, with recent videos showing Punch being groomed by and playing with other monkeys as he gradually fits in with his troop, and displaying increased independence by leaving behind his stuffed toy for longer and more frequent periods of time.