In January, Panchi-kun (or Punch, in English) had just one friend at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan: a small, orange orangutan plushie. The Japanese macaque, who was born in July 2025, “was rescued from being abandoned and raised through hand-rearing,” the zoo wrote in an X post translated to English. Videos circulating online showed other monkeys shoving Punch, leaving him only his emotional support toy as comfort. By Thursday, another video had emerged that appeared to show Punch getting attacked by an older monkey in his troop. “The adult monkey that dragged Punch is probably the mother of the monkey with whom Punch tried to communicate," the statement, which was addressed from the zookeepers, read.

Source: Punch February 21, 2026 12:02 UTC