Overview
- New viral clips show Punch raising his arm to wave toward visitors after a closing announcement at Ichikawa City Zoo.
- Recent observations report more contact with troop mates, including piggyback rides, sitting with adults, and being groomed, as his dependence on the plush toy declines.
- The zoo says he still sleeps with the stuffed orangutan, and staff lightly disinfected a small nose scrape noted this week.
- To protect welfare as crowds swell, the zoo restricts viewing to roughly 10 minutes and asks visitors to keep quiet near the macaque enclosure.
- Primate experts characterize the rougher interactions seen in videos as normal macaque social behavior and warn that Japanese macaques should not be kept as pets.