On the 19th, at the Ichikawa Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, ‘Punch’, a 7-month-old male monkey whose mother gave up on raising him shortly after birth, is spending time with an orangutan plush toy. AFP Yonhap News
A photo of a baby monkey and a plush toy living together at a zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, has become a hot topic online.
According to Reuters on the 20th (local time), Japanese monkey ‘Punch’ was born at the Ichikawa City Zoo seven months ago, but was abandoned by his mother. According to the zoo, the mother appears to have given up on the cub due to the extreme heat at the time of birth.
Baby Japanese monkeys usually cling to their mothers to strengthen their muscles and gain a sense of stability. In need of quick intervention, the zookeepers used a bundle of towels and several stuffed toys to test whether they could become attachment figures. Ultimately, the ‘Orange Big-Eyed Orangutan Doll‘ sold by Swedish furniture brand IKEA was chosen. Zookeeper Kosuke Shikano said, “This doll has relatively long fur and has many parts that are easy to hold,” and added, “I chose it because I thought it would help Punch join the group because it looks similar to a monkey.”
The doll is bigger than Punch, but Punch drags the doll wherever he goes. As a video of Punch holding or dragging a doll spread on social networking services (SNS), the number of visitors to the zoo increased significantly. The doll was sold out at IKEA in Japan. Nurse Miyu Igarashi (26) said, “Although she was abandoned by her parents, I was moved by her hard-working life and visited the zoo with my friend.”
Professor Joan Silk, a primatologist, explained, “Animals, like humans, value social bonds,” and “bonds lower stress and anxiety and provide a sense of stability.” Professor Silk also analyzed the response of ‘I want to adopt Punch’ on social media and added, “Even if it is an animal, people have a fundamental instinct to want to relieve loneliness, but it is more important in life for (Punch) to be accepted into the monkey group.”
Zookeepers explained that Punch experienced some conflict while getting along with other monkeys, but that he was gradually getting better. The zoo issued a statement saying, “You can see resilience and mental strength in Punch’s face,” adding, “Rather than pity him, please support him.”
Reporter Lee Hwi-bin vinyvin@nongmin.com
