In early 2026, images and videos appearing to show a baby monkey holding an orangutan plush toy went viral on social media.
Posts across the internet — including on X, TikTok and Reddit — claimed that "Punch the monkey" was rejected by his mother and carried the stuffed animal around for comfort.
While Punch pulled on heartstrings across the world, skeptical Snopes readers searched the website to verify the story's legitimacy. Several readers specifically searched for information on whether content about the abandoned monkey was generated by artificial intelligence.
Punch the baby monkey and his emotional support stuffed orangutan are real, according to the official X account (archived) of Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, Punch's residence as of this writing. The zoo said its zookeepers hand-reared the rescued monkey, a Japanese macaque, after his parents abandoned him. As such, we have rated this claim as true.
While the Ichikawa City Zoo does not have a verified badge on X indicating that it is an official account, its official website — denoted by the domain "lg.jp," which is reserved for local governments in Japan — links to the aforementioned X account at the bottom of its homepage, confirming the account's legitimacy.
Credible photojournalism databases like Getty Images and reputable news outlets from around the world have published images and videos of Punch and his stuffed orangutan from varying angles, further corroborating the story.
A Feb. 27 update from the zoo said Punch "continues to live with his stuffed toy," per an auto-translation from Japanese to English by X's artificial intelligence bot, Grok, though a Feb. 28 post said he was "still keeping his distance from the stuffed animals" that day. A Feb. 23 post, also translated by Grok, said "he was observed playing with the other baby monkeys" and "continues to do well."
Additional videos appearing to show Punch being "dragged" by other monkeys caused outrage among many social media users, but the zoo explained in a Feb. 19 X post that it "anticipated that this challenge may arise" and noted that "no single monkey has shown serious aggression to him."
"While Punch is scolded, he shows resilience and mental strength. When you observe these disciplinary behaviors from other troop members toward Punch when he tries to communicate with them, we would like you to support Punch's effort rather than feel sorry for him," the zoo wrote.
It is also worth noting that following widespread attention on Punch's story, the zoo has seen an influx of visitors, many of whom have posted videos online. Given the popularity of Punch's story, internet users have also generated numerous images and videos of Punch using artificial intelligence. As such, we cannot independently verify the legitimacy of every image and video of Punch.
Punch's story
Punch was born on July 26,
Abandonment by macaque mothers is unusual, but it can happen, according to researchers. Male macaques only occasionally care for macaque infants.
The Mainichi reported that zookeepers tried various substitutes for Punch's mother to act as comfort, including rolled-up towels and various stuffed animals. Punch "took a liking" to the orangutan plush toy, reportedly from Ikea.
"Providing a stuffed toy and towels to hold onto not only stimulates clinging to a mother but also prevents excessive dependence on humans," the zoo said in a Feb. 27 statement. "This approach is used for other artificially reared primates at our zoo, not just Japanese macaques."
Zookeepers then reintroduced him to the rest of the zoo's monkey troop on Jan. 19. According to the zoo, Japanese macaque infants usually begin spending more time away from their mothers around six months of age, but return when seeking comfort or wanting to nurse. In Punch's case, he returns to his stuffed toy "when he perceives danger," but the human caretakers provide milk and meals.
Ichikawa City Zoo said its staff has successfully reintegrated hand-reared animals into groups in the past. In 2009, for example, the zoo reintegrated a Japanese macaque named Otome who used a stuffed yellow bear as a substitute for her mother. Otome went on to give birth four times and raised "all of her offspring on her own."
"Our entire staff will put their utmost effort into ensuring that Punch can live a healthy and fulfilling life as a member of the troop and as a Japanese macaque," the zoo wrote.