[REVISION HISTORY]

Japanese macaque Punch first birthday

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-27 08:05 UTC → 2026-07-27 22:30 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Punch, a Japanese macaque born on 26 July 2025 at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden, was abandoned by his mother and rescued by ~~zoo~~ staff. He was hand‑fed from a bottle and given a plush orangutan toy to develop his grasp ~~reflex. A~~ reflex; a video of him clutching the toy went viral in February 2026, ~~sparking~~ creating an international fan base and drawing tens of thousands of visitors, about half from abroad. For his first birthday on 26 July 2026 the zoo ~~displayed~~ set up an indoor exhibit displaying roughly 2,500 cards, drawings and ~~videos~~ messages sent by supporters ~~worldwide in a dedicated indoor exhibit.~~ worldwide. Zoo director Takashi Yasunaga said the volume of cards far exceeded expectations and now covers the exhibit walls. Fans used the hashtag #HangInTherePunch, and visitors such as Kumi Ishizawa said the monkey’s story helped them cope with personal health challenges. The publicity generated about ¥58 million (≈US $350 k) in donations, which funded a new air‑conditioning system for the zoo. After six months of special care, Punch was moved in January 2026 into the main monkey enclosure, joining ~~around~~ about 50 other macaques and no longer relying on the plush toy. The zoo ~~also~~ reported incidents of unauthorized YouTubers entering the enclosure in May 2026 and a laser‑pointer incident the following month.

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