We all know Punch, the viral monkey from TikTok! This poor little guy was rejected by his mother and raised by zookeepers at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Tokyo. The zookeepers gave him a sweet little surrogate stuffed orangutan toy that he continues to carry around as comfort. He struggled at first to acclimate to the other monkeys when he was introduced in January of 2026, but with time, the others have really started to warm up to him, and rumor has it that he might even have a girlfriend!!
New videos of Punch and a female monkey named Momo-chan have appeared online, and people are loving them. They can be seen cuddling, playing together, and even grooming one another. Some even note that Momo-chan is a similar shade of red to Punch’s toy orangutan. While Punch still carries around his comfort toy, zookeepers expressed their hope that he will grow out of the plush toy and become more independent. I personally think that this pair is adorable and can’t wait to see Punch finally be accepted among the other monkeys!