IKEA Japan did not miss the chance to donate a collection of dolls to Ishikawa Zoo, home to "Punch-kun," the young monkey who gained worldwide online fame for having an IKEA orangutan doll as his "mother," reassuring netizens that Punch-kun now has a backup mother figure.
Concerns among netizens that Punch-kun's orangutan doll might get damaged or torn from being dragged everywhere eased when Petra Färe, CEO of IKEA Japan, visited Ishikawa Zoo to deliver a doll identical to Punch-kun's "mother," officially named "DJUNGELSKOG," along with many other animal dolls. The recipient was Ko Tanaka, mayor of Ishikawa Prefecture, who yesterday (17 Feb) shared photos with Petra Färe and the donated dolls on platform X, using the hashtag "Fight on, Punch-kun."
The story of Punch-kun, a Japanese snow monkey born at Ishikawa Zoo, began when his biological mother became stressed and refused to nurture him. Zoo staff took over his care from infancy and gave him an orangutan doll to represent the maternal warmth he was unable to receive from his real mother.
Over the past seven months, Punch-kun has grown up largely alone with only human caregivers, unable to integrate with other monkeys. He has spent most of his time with his favorite orangutan doll. Japanese visitors often say that Punch-kun cares for the doll as if it were his real mother.
The heartwarming images of Punch-kun shared online inspired Japanese netizens to unite under the hashtag "Fight on, Punch-kun" to encourage him to win over other monkeys and become part of the troop.
Recently, good news from the zoo reports that several monkeys have started accepting Punch-kun into their group. However, Punch-kun still keeps his "mother" doll close at all times.
Source: Caters News/Yuriko Sano, X @ichikawa_shi, X @koh_tanaka