Punch the Monkey
You might remember it as Punch and the IKEA orangutan
The hashtag #HangInTherePunch
Latest internet culture5 of 34
2026·The last few years·unexpected
A young Japanese macaque at a zoo near Tokyo, abandoned by his mother and raised by keepers, who would not let go of a stuffed toy orangutan.
At a glanceThe facts
- Remembered as
- Punch and the IKEA orangutan
- Spread in
- 2026
- Format
- Phenomenon
- Who or what it shows
- Punch-kun, born 26 July 2025 at Ichikawa City Zoo, Chiba
- Original title
- Named after Monkey Punch, the creator of Lupin the Third
- What it said
- The hashtag #HangInTherePunch
- Origin
- No single original
- Available
- Not held by ViralWorld
What this wasThe story
Punch, a young macaque at a Japanese zoo whose mother had died, clinging continuously to an IKEA Djungelskog orangutan given to him as a surrogate.
The plush sold out in the United States, Japan and Korea. Zoo attendance rose sharply.
Why it matteredWhat changed
After the zoo told his story, twice as many people came in a month as the year before, and the toy’s maker sent thirty-three more.
TimelineIn order
- Made
Punch is born.1 What else happened on 26 July
- Posted
The zoo posts his story.1
- Picked up
IKEA, which makes the toy, donates thirty-three of them.1
- Later
The zoo reports that he is holding the toy less and mixing with the adult monkeys.1
- Later
Two men are arrested for entering his enclosure to promote a cryptocurrency. He is unharmed.1
LegacyWhat it left behind
- The animal-rights group PETA criticised the zoo and called for him to be moved to a reserve.1
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Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast
Where it came fromWhat we know
This spread through many posts rather than one identifiable original. No copy is held here — what it was, when it spread and what people called it is what this page can tell you.
Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.
SourcesWhat was read
Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things