Did Punch Find Love?
Summary
• A baby Japanese macaque named パンチ (Punch) went viral after being rejected by his mother shortly after birth and raised by zookeepers at Ichikawa City Zoo.
• Early posts showed Punch being cared for by humans and struggling to integrate with other monkeys, which drew attention online.
• Later updates showed a shift, with Punch appearing healthier and spending time with another macaque named Momo.
Read the full story
Punch is a baby Japanese macaque (snow monkey) born on July 26, 2025 at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. He was rejected by his mother shortly after birth, likely due to her being an inexperienced first-time parent, and was raised by zookeepers who provided constant care and support. Zookeepers also gave Punch a soft toy for comfort, which became a central part of his story as he relied on it while being raised and later introduced to the troop.
As attention grew, a token named Punch was launched. A community takeover followed, led by MemememHen, who began posting updates about how creator fees were being used and outlining plans tied to the project.
In early days, Punch struggled to fit in and was often bullied by bigger monkeys due to his small size and lack of social development.
More recent posts began showing a different side of Punch. One update highlights him alongside another macaque named Momo, with some users describing the interaction as a bond.
Another post shows the two sitting side by side, reinforcing the shift toward more stable social behavior.
A separate clip shows Punch waiting for a caretaker who regularly feeds the monkeys. When the person arrives, Punch ignores the food and jumps onto them, holding on instead.
Punch token was launched on February 5 and reached an all time high of $59.7M on February 22. More recently, it moved back up to $20M after dropping as low as $5.2M, as new posts about Punch began circulating again and brought renewed attention to his story.
