The story of little Punch, the tiny macaque monkey, and his little orangutan stuffy has taken the world by storm recently with its heartwarming tale of love, acceptance, and friendship. Unsurprisingly, other zoos are starting to hop on this bandwagon by giving the monkeys in their care their own little Punch-inspired stuffies.
That is what the San Francisco Zoo recently did when they gave their lemurs, Neil and Karen, their very own orangutan stuffy from IKEA. The ensuing video of Neil and Karen getting acquainted with their orangutan stuffy is captivating social media. It turns out that no matter the situation, monkeys playing with a stuffed animal is totally adorable!
After watching all those videos of tiny Punch bonding with his orangutan plushie at the Ichikawa Zoo after his mother rejected him, the caretakers at the San Francisco Zoo decided to honor the little macaque monkey that could by giving their Coquerel’s sifaka lemurs their very own IKEA orangutan to see how they would react to it.
As this footage shows, Neil and Karen were a little hesitant to see what this IKEA stuffy was all about at first. However, after a while, they began warming up to this adorable stuffed simian and decided to play with it a little bit.
Related: Punch the Monkey Grooming His Stuffie With New Little Bestie Will Steal Your Heart
They very tentatively sniffed and felt this stuffed animal to see what it was all about. Of course, watching them do so was totally adorable. Social media absolutely loved this video! Many Instagram users commented on how cute this footage was while noting how funny it is to see monkeys get up to monkey business, LOL.
Neil and Karen Also Enjoy Plenty of Stimulating Enrichment
As this other video shows, Neil and Karen are some pretty lucky lemurs. Thanks to their awesome caretakers at the San Francisco Zoo, these curious Coquerel’s sifakas get to enjoy a variety of stimulating enrichment toys and activities.
Just last month, they got to enjoy some very cool Super Bowl-themed decorations, treats, and toys in their enclosure prior to the big game, which just so happened to take place in the San Francisco Bay Area.
They got to play with football-shaped decorations, a “touchdown” box, and eat the tasty treats out of a football-shaped bowl. Who knows what fun enrichment activities or snacks they will get to enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day? Whatever they may be, they will now have an extra friend joining them!
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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.