It Wasn't Bullying: This is the Real Reason Punch Was 'Attacked' by Other Monkeys
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Punch, the viral baby monkey, appeared to be ‘bullied’ by a group of other adult monkeys. The zoo has spoken out about this.
Punch became well-known after a video of him carrying a monkey doll went viral online. The doll is considered to be like his mother and helps to alleviate Punch’s loneliness.
Some time passed, and now a video of Punch is going viral again. The video shows the older monkeys appearing to harass Punch, dragging him to the ground and making him return to his favourite doll.
A number of people contacted the Ichikawa Zoo in Japan regarding this, asking about Punch’s condition. The zoo then issued a statement about the incident.
According to the zoo keepers, the incident occurred when Punch approached another baby monkey. When the baby monkey moved away, Punch would sit next to it.
Soon after, an adult female monkey, believed to be the mother of the baby monkey, began to intervene. The female monkey was said to be annoyed by Punch’s behaviour towards her child.
“She may have felt that her child was being disturbed by Punch and became annoyed,” said the zoo, quoted by Huffpost, Thursday (26/2/2026).
However, this behaviour is normal in the world of monkeys. Female animals will dominate and show aggressive behaviour towards those who are not dominant, even towards babies.
“It is important to remember that in Japanese macaque monkeys, a certain level of aggression is normal in order to maintain a strict matrilineal dominance hierarchy. Although Punch appears to be being bullied, this is not unusual,” said the zoo.
Punch has also received the same treatment. The monkey is now learning to understand the dynamics of his group.
The zoo also assured that none of the monkeys showed serious aggression towards Punch. Although he was seen being scolded by the other monkeys several times.
“Punch has been scolded by other monkeys several times, and is learning how to socialise with them,” they said.
(dem/dem)