Punch the orphan macaque is outgrowing his plushie and making friends

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ICHIKAWA, Japan (AP) — Punch the baby orphan macaque is outgrowing the orangutan plushie that comforted him through early rejection from his mother and other monkeys.

Images of Punch dragging around the toy bigger than him drew attention to the residents of a zoo near Tokyo. When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it for comfort.

But he's been using the toy less. On a recent day, Punch was seen climbing on the back of another monkey, sitting with adults and sometimes getting groomed or hugged.

“It was good to see him grow, and I’m reassured,” said Sanae Izumi, a 61-year-old Punch fan from Osaka who came to the zoo because she was worried about the baby monkey. “He is adorable!”

Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth, presumably because of exhaustion. Zookeepers nursed him and gave him the toy to train him to cling, an ability newborn macaques need to survive.

“Helping Punch learn the rules of monkey society and being accepted as a member is our most important task,” said Kosuke Kano, a 24-year-old zookeeper.

Punch was so popular after images of him and his toy showed up online last month, the zoo had to set rules to make visitors be quiet and to limit viewing to 10 minutes to reduce stress for the more than 50 other monkeys.

Punch eschewing the toy most of the time now is a good thing.

“When he grows out of the plush toy that encourages his independence, and that’s what we are hoping for,” zoo director Shigekazu Mizushina said.

Punch still sleeps with his toy every night, but Mizushina said the next thing keepers want to see is Punch bunched up with other monkeys to sleep.