Overview
- Punch, which turned one on Sunday, has received about 2,500 birthday cards that the Ichikawa City Zoo has put on display in an indoor exhibit with video of his early days.
- Keepers nursed the newborn after his mother abandoned him last year and gave him an IKEA orangutan plush to teach a vital gripping reflex that newborn macaques need to cling and survive.
- After six months of special care, Punch was moved into the communal monkey enclosure in mid-January and zoo staff now say he is playing with peers and relying less on the toy.
- The monkey’s viral rise in February drove a large surge of visitors from Japan and overseas, prompting the zoo to limit viewing time and impose quiet rules while also reporting security breaches and a laser-pointer incident.
- The zoo raised about ¥58 million in donations by mid-July for upgrades such as new air-conditioning, a change that could boost visitor comfort and animal welfare but will keep public scrutiny on crowd control and care practices.