{"id":9735,"date":"2026-02-28T21:15:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=9735"},"modified":"2026-02-28T21:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:15:21","slug":"he-was-too-small-to-fight-alone-kosuke-shikano-became-punchs-godfather-who-refused-to-let-him-fall-when-his-mother-walked-away-when-punch-was-abandoned-shortly-af","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=9735","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHE WAS TOO SMALL TO FIGHT ALONE.\u201d \u2014 KOSUKE SHIKANO BECAME PUNCH\u2019S GODFATHER WHO REFUSED TO LET HIM FALL WHEN HIS MOTHER WALKED AWAY When Punch was abandoned shortly after birth, his survival hung by a thread \u2014 fragile, uncertain, measured in hours rather than weeks. That was when Kosuke Shikano and the team at Ichikawa City Zoo stepped in without hesitation, choosing to hand raise the tiny Japanese macaque with round-the-clock care, bottle feedings, and the steady presence of a human determined not to let him fade. Understanding how deeply young primates depend on touch and bonding, Shikano introduced a soft stuffed orangutan into Punch\u2019s enclosure \u2014 a simple gesture that would become something far greater. The plush toy wasn\u2019t just fabric and stuffing; it became warmth, reassurance, and the steady heartbeat Punch could cling to in moments of uncertainty. Visitors now see a baby monkey hugging a toy \u2014 but behind that image is a caretaker who answered midnight cries, monitored every fragile milestone, and stood in for the comfort nature briefly denied him. What began as emergency intervention quietly transformed into something more enduring \u2014 trust built day by day, small fingers wrapping not only around a stuffed companion but around a second chance at life\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Abandoned at birth, Japan\u2019s baby monkey won\u2019t let go of his stuffed orangutan, becomes zoo visitors\u2019 favorite<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"Abandoned <\/p>\n
A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. Photo by Reuters<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At a zoo outside Tokyo, the monkey enclosure has become a must-see attraction thanks to an inseparable pair: Punch, a baby Japanese macaque, and his stuffed orangutan companion.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Punch\u2019s mother abandoned the macaque when he was born seven months ago at the Ichikawa City Zoo and when an onlooker noticed and alerted zookeepers, they swung into action.<\/p>\n

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Japanese baby macaques typically cling to their mothers to build muscle strength and for a sense of security, so Punch needed a swift intervention, zookeeper Kosuke Shikano said.<\/p>\n

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The keepers experimented with substitutes including rolled-up towels and other stuffed animals before settling on the orange, bug-eyed orangutan, sold by Swedish furniture brand IKEA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold,\u201d Shikano said. \u201cWe thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on, and that\u2019s why we chose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Punch has rarely been seen without it since, dragging the cuddly toy everywhere even though it is bigger than him, and delighting fans who have flocked to the zoo since videos of the two went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing Punch on social media, abandoned by his parents but still trying so hard, really moved me,\u201d said 26-year-old nurse Miyu Igarashi. \u201cSo when I got the chance to meet up with a friend today, I suggested we go see Punch together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shikano thinks Punch\u2019s mother abandoned him because of the extreme heat in July when she gave birth.<\/p>\n

Punch has had some differences with the other monkeys as he has tried to communicate with them, but zookeepers say that is part of the learning process and he is steadily integrating with the troop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there will come a day when he no longer needs his stuffed toy,\u201d Shikano said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abandoned at birth, Japan\u2019s baby monkey won\u2019t let go of his stuffed orangutan, becomes zoo visitors\u2019 favorite   A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9737,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9735\/revisions\/9737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}