An orphaned monkey that was shunned by his mother at a Japanese zoo is finally being accepted by his peers.
Images of Punch, who lives in Ichikawa City Zoo, near Tokyo, went viral last month after he appeared to seek comfort in a plush toy monkey after being rejected by other macaques in his enclosure.
Since then, the trending hashtag #HangInTherePunch has brought hundreds of visitors to the zoo to catch a glimpse of the lonely monkey.
But Punch appears to be finally integrating with other monkeys and using the toy less.
The baby macaque has recently been pictured hitching a ride on the back of another monkey, sitting with adults, and sometimes getting groomed or hugged by his peers.
‘It was good to see him grow, and I’m reassured,’ said Sanae Izumi, a 61-year-old Punch fan from Osaka who came to the zoo because she was worried about the baby monkey. ‘He is adorable!’
Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth, presumably because of exhaustion.
Zookeepers nursed him and gave him the toy to train him to cling – an ability newborn macaques need to survive.
Punch the monkey finally seems to be making friends after he was photographed being cuddled by another macaque
Punch was seen sitting with others in the monkeys’ playground at Japan’s Ichikawa Zoo this month
He joined the monkey enclosure at the zoo early this year, with his companion toy provided by the zookeepers for comfort.
Zookeeper Kosuke Kano, 24, said: ‘Helping Punch learn the rules of monkey society and being accepted as a member is our most important task.’
Japanese baby macaques cling to their mothers to feel safe and to build up their muscles, according to zookeeper Kosuke Shikano.
The zoo looked for an alternative, such as a towel or a different soft toy, but Punch chose the long-legged teddy orangutan.
‘This stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold,’ Shikano said.
‘We thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on, and that’s why we chose it.’
Punch was so popular after images of him and his toy showed up online last month that the zoo had to set rules to make visitors quiet and to limit viewing to ten minutes to reduce stress for the more than 50 other monkeys.
In this video grab, the once-shunned Punch appears to be happily hitching a ride on the back of another monkey
Six-month-old Punch, pictured clinging to his now viral orangutan toy, shot to fame on social media
Punch outgrowing the toy is a good thing, zoo staff say.
‘When he grows out of the plush toy that encourages his independence, and that’s what we are hoping for,’ zoo director Shigekazu Mizushina said.
Punch still sleeps with his toy every night, but Mizushina said the next thing keepers want to see is Punch bunched up with other monkeys to sleep.