Tokyo zoo clarifies baby macaque Punch is not abused, as natural troop dynamics differ from human bullying, amid global online concern.

TOKYO: A Japanese zoo has denied that a baby monkey who became an internet sensation is being bullied by his troop. The Ichikawa City Zoo issued the statement following an outpouring of online concern.

Punch, a seven-month-old macaque, was abandoned by his mother and shot to fame after clinging to a plush orangutan toy for comfort. Videos showing him being chased by other monkeys spread online after the zoo posted that he “had been scolded many times by other monkeys”.

“As a result, we have received many voices of concern from people both in Japan and overseas,” the zoo said. It clarified that dominant individuals may show disciplining actions toward subordinates, as macaques do naturally.

“These actions in the macaque society ‘differ from human abuses’,” it stated. The zoo added that Punch spends most of the day peacefully and is becoming less reliant on the stuffed toy.

This is because increasing numbers of monkeys are now looking after or playing with him. The zoo warned that separating him now would risk him never being able to return to the group.

Punch was raised in an artificial environment after being spurned by his mother. He began training to rejoin his troop earlier this year.

His predicament sparked huge interest online, spawning a fanbase under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch. Large crowds have thronged the zoo, and sales of his IKEA orangutan toy have boomed.

However, animal rights group PETA said Punch’s plight highlights the cruelty of zoos. It called for his relocation to a “reputable sanctuary, where he could live in a more natural environment”.

 The Sun Malaysia