A lonely baby monkey is breaking hearts all over the world, after a video went viral of him running to grab a stuffed toy after a vicious attack by another monkey.
Who Is Punch the Lonely Monkey?
Punch, also known as Panchi-kun, is a baby macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.
He was born at the zoo on July 26, 2025 but was abandoned by his mother, who lacked interest in raising him. Zoo officials then gave Punch a toy orangutan after he started to show signs of anxiety and isolation. He has begun to treat this plushie as a surrogate mother, keeping it close to him inside his enclosure. The relationship between the monkey and the plushie has catapulted Punch to online fame, as footage of the two together has captured people’s hearts.
And, in a trend reminiscent of the Moo Deng effect, the zoo has started to see a surge in visitors thanks to Punch’s popularity.
What To Know
In a viral video shared to X, Punch is seen being dragged around in circle by a much larger, adult monkey.
Punch then flees to safety, grabs his plushie orangutan and hides with it behind a rock.
The video has quickly gone viral online. The account Pop Base shared screenshots of the video, which have been viewed 5.7 million times on the platform.
That viral post reads: “Punch, the viral lonely monkey, was attacked by another member of his troop and immediately returned to his plush toy for comfort.”
One social media user, @Sotsub responded to Pop Base with the full video, in a post viewed over 250,000 times.
Another social media user, @EU4HORIAGGUK, responded with a viral clip of the fitness instructor, Kendall Toole, saying: “Get them banned.” That clip first aired in 2023, and shows Toole getting angry while addressing her production team. It has gone viral again in 2026, becoming a meme.
Sharing that clip, @EU4HORIAGGUK, wrote “grown a** monkeys bullying a baby.” That video has been viewed 1 million times as of reporting.
What People Are Saying
One social media user wrote in a post on X viewed over 240,000 times: “IM ON MY WAY.”
Another said in a post viewed over 70,000 times: “He has friends now.”
A different social media user wrote in a post on X viewed over 100,000 times: “I’m about to fly to Japan and beat a monkey ass.”
Another wrote in a post viewed 13,000 times: “My heart literally broke watching this Punch deserves all the love and a forever safe troop. Protect this baby at all costs.”
What Happens Next?
Now that Punch has captured the world’s and the Internet’s attention, it is likely that further footage of the little monkey will go viral online.