US EditionPunch the Monkey Is ‘Energetic as Usual’: Japan Zoo Shares Health Update on the Internet's Favourite Baby Macaque
Vice Ganda visited Punch, the viral baby macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo, whose improved condition inspired global attention and boosted sales of related merchandise.
- Vice Ganda shared on Feb. 27, 2026, that she succeeded in seeing Punch at Ichikawa City Zoo during her Japan trip, posting a photo and Instagram Story.
- Born last July, Punch, the baby Japanese macaque, was rejected by Punch's mother and hand-reared by keepers at Ichikawa City Zoo while footage showed him clutching a stuffed orangutan.
- IKEA's $19 Djungelskog plush sold out after Punch went viral, with e‑commerce sellers and resellers on eBay and Etsy relisting toys above $100, while drop-shipping sites launched 'Team Punch' merch last week.
- As of February 24 reports indicate Punch's condition improved, with footage showing other macaques grooming him, and visitors have swarmed the enclosure as the zoo urged people to 'support Punch's efforts rather than feel sorry for him'.
- The Captive Primate Safety Act introduced this year aims to curb breeding and selling monkeys as pets amid a December 2025 report showing more than 248 million animals captured.
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Punch the monkey is ‘energetic as usual’: Japan zoo shares health update on the Internet's favourite baby macaque
Acknowledging that the zoo must balance environmental changes with Punch's social development, it said that the baby macaque is still integrating into the troop, and ‘making a radical change’ to the habitat could disrupt group dynamics or lead to further bullying.
A little pimp abandoned by his mother in a Japanese zoo has been waiting for the whole world for a few days.
I have been observing for days the fervor that unleashes in networks (and telediaries) the sentimental content created around a traumatized macaque that drags an attachment teddy in a Japanese zoo. The monkey in question is called Punch and reveals a generalized reactionary sentimentalism. And no, I don’t say Punch is right-wing, but the feeling that is awakening is. I read on Instagram: “My emotional stability depends on the daily report of whe…
'He looks ok': Vice Ganda checks on Punch the monkey in Japan
“It’s Showtime” host Vice Ganda shared that he was able to personally see the condition of Punch, the viral baby monkey in Japan that has captured global attention. Punch is a baby macaque monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, who went viral for his heart-wrenching search for companionship after being abandoned by his mother. Videos […] The post ‘He looks ok’: Vice Ganda checks on Punch the monkey in Japan appeared first on Interaksyon.
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