Overview
- Punch, whose caretakers said Thursday he is integrating, has begun to approach and play with other macaques at Ichikawa City Zoo.
- Caretakers and visitors now see him spend more time with a companion macaque called Moe and less time with the stuffed orangutan.
- The zoo tightened viewing at Monkey Mountain with 10-minute front-row limits and a ban on livestreaming to cut stress as daily visitors have jumped to roughly 2,000 to 3,000.
- A widely shared February video of a larger macaque roughing up Punch prompted concern, but zoo officials said it showed normal correction and not a threat to his survival.
- Japanese macaques live by a strict hierarchy, so short scoldings and brief tussles teach young monkeys social rules and help them find their place in the group.