Overview
- Videos from March show Punch in frequent affiliative contact with an adult female macaque known as Momo-chan, also called Aiko, including cuddling, grooming and brief face-to-face touches described by viewers as kisses.
- Caretakers report the infant now relies less on the orange IKEA plush he once clung to, though he still sleeps with it at night, and say teaching him macaque social rules is the top priority.
- Experts and reporters caution against calling the relationship romantic, noting Punch is about seven to eight months old and Japanese macaques typically reach sexual maturity at three to four years.
- The renewed clips have reignited online interest, with rapid engagement on Reddit and other platforms, and the zoo has managed crowding with a posted 10-minute guideline for front-row viewing.
- Animal-welfare advocates warn that viral empathy can fuel inappropriate desires to adopt or keep wild animals as pets and criticize social media portrayals that normalize close human contact with primates.