Punch, a little baby monkey, became the world’s favorite new animal overnight as a video of him was released hugging a stuffed animal orangutan at a zoo in Chiba, Japan. When I first saw a video of Punch, my heart broke for him. When Punch was born, his mother had gone through such a difficult pregnancy that she wasn’t able to get attached to her son and formed a sort of resentment towards him. Shortly after, he was orphaned and abandoned by the rest of his clan. The zoo found him and brought him to the exhibit with the other monkeys. However, Punch was severely bullied and tossed around by the older monkeys. Every time he got hurt, he would run away with a stuffed animal that was given to him as a safety and comfort toy. Punch became extremely attached to the plushie and would be seen cuddling with it as if it were his mother. He would even refuse food if it meant he had to be separated from his stuffed animal. But after a couple of days, Punch was able to make his first friend and finally learned what a hug was. Punch is now slowly integrating his way into the rest of the group, rumors arising that he may have a girlfriend.
