{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1589366,
        "msgid": "punch-the-orphan-macaque-is-outgrowing-his-plushie-and-making-friends-1772690381",
        "date": "2026-03-05 11:50:00",
        "title": "Punch the orphan macaque is outgrowing his plushie and making friends",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNA",
        "tags": "East Asia ,Asia",
        "topic": "Anthropology",
        "summary": "Punch, a baby orphan macaque at a zoo near Tokyo, is outgrowing the orangutan plush toy that comforted him after early rejection. He is increasingly interacting with other monkeys and adults, signaling growing social integration, though keepers still hope for greater independence and closeness with the troop; the zoo has even limited viewing to reduce stress while he adapts.",
        "content": "<p>Punch the orphan macaque is outgrowing his plushie and making\nfriends<\/p>\n<p>ICHIKAWA: Punch the baby orphan macaque is outgrowing the orangutan\nplushie that comforted him through early rejection from his mother and\nother monkeys.<\/p>\n<p>Images of Punch dragging around the toy bigger than him drew\nattention to the residents of a zoo near Tokyo. When other monkeys\nshooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it\nfor comfort.<\/p>\n<p>But he\u2019s been using the toy less. On a recent day, Punch was seen\nclimbing on the back of another monkey, sitting with adults and\nsometimes getting groomed or hugged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was good to see him grow, and I\u2019m reassured,\u201d said Sanae Izumi, a\n61-year-old Punch fan from Osaka who came to the zoo because she was\nworried about the baby monkey. \u201cHe is adorable!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth, presumably because\nof exhaustion. Zookeepers nursed him and gave him the toy to train him\nto cling, an ability newborn macaques need to survive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelping Punch learn the rules of monkey society and being accepted\nas a member is our most important task,\u201d said Kosuke Kano, a 24-year-old\nzookeeper.<\/p>\n<p>Punch was so popular after images of him and his toy showed up online\nlast month, the zoo had to set rules to make visitors be quiet and to\nlimit viewing to 10 minutes to reduce stress for the more than 50 other\nmonkeys.<\/p>\n<p>Punch eschewing the toy most of the time now is a good thing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he grows out of the plush toy, that encourages his\nindependence, and that\u2019s what we are hoping for,\u201d zoo director Shigekazu\nMizushina said.<\/p>\n<p>Punch still sleeps with his toy every night, but Mizushina said the\nnext thing keepers want to see is Punch bunched up with other monkeys to\nsleep.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/punch-the-orphan-macaque-is-outgrowing-his-plushie-and-making-friends-1772690381",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}