"In case the current state of the world isn't enough to make you cry, a Japanese zoo has introduced its own tearjerker: Punch, the abandoned baby macaque who's emotionally attached to a stuffed orangutan that keeps him company. From the Ichikawa City Zoo, Punch has stolen hearts and launched fan art internationally as the internet observes him cuddling his plushie in various photo and video updates."
"Punch was born at the zoo last summer and promptly abandoned by his mother, resulting in the zookeepers hand-rearing him. They provided him with towels and stuffed animals to cling onto for comfort and to promote muscle growth, as baby monkeys would normally do with their mothers, and Punch was especially fond of the orangutan toy. In an interview, the zookeepers said that the toy was essentially Punch's "surrogate mother.""
"When they facilitated his integration into the troop of macaques residing in the monkey enclosure in January, Punch brought the stuffed orangutan with him and held it for comfort as he started slowly interacting with the others. The zoo and its visitors shared regular updates of Punch moving around with the toy and laying on it - an equally precious and devastating sight."
Punch, an abandoned baby macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo, was hand-reared by zookeepers after being rejected by his mother. Caregivers provided towels and stuffed toys to simulate maternal contact and encourage muscle development, and Punch formed a strong attachment to a stuffed orangutan, which became his surrogate comfort object. Keepers reintroduced Punch to the macaque troop in January, and he carried the stuffed orangutan while cautiously interacting with other monkeys. Photos and videos of Punch with the toy prompted widespread public affection and inspired international fan art across illustration, embroidery, and memes. Online viewers expressed protective sympathy when other monkeys pushed Punch, reinforcing his reliance on the stuffed companion.
Read at Hyperallergic
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