Punch the monkey sent thousands of cards for 1st birthday
Punch gained fans all over the world with his attachment to this stuffed orangutan. Pictured here in March 2026
- Published
A monkey who was abandoned by his mother when he has born has received 2,500 birthday cards from well-wishers.
Punch the Japanese macaque, who lives at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden, was cared for by zookeepers when his mother rejected him.
His story and his attachment to a toy orangutan went viral so when he turned one cards from all over the world flew in.
The zoo has now put the cards on display.
Punch the monkey has made new friends
- Published27 March
Fluffy chick adopted into flamingo family
- Published8 July 2023
Check out this colourful record-breaking animal artwork
- Published15 June
After Punch was abandoned by his mother, zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan to train him to cling, something macaques need to learn.
The images of baby Punch dragging the big stuffed ape went viral and bought thousands of visitors to the zoo.
Around 2,500 cards were sent to the zoo in celebration of Punch's first birthday
Punch may no longer be a baby or need his orangutan, but it seems he still has lots of fans.
Takashi Yasunaga, Chief of Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden told news agency Associated Press they had received around 2,500 birthday cards - so many that they don't all fit on the walls of the room they are displayed in.
"Every card is written from the heart. I hope we can display as many cards as we can, and as long as we can," he said.
