The psychology behind ‘Punch’; What science says about abandonment and stress in Japanese Macaques

You must have watched heartwarming videos of baby monkey Punch on social media – clips of him clinging tightly to a stuffed orange orangutan, wandering alone, and at times being chased by older monkeys. What began as a few short clips soon became a collective emotional response online, with viewers projecting their own stories of rejection and comfort onto him. So much so that people are now creating AI-generated videos of Punch “taking revenge” on his bullies. 

And Punch’s fame has even spilled into the commercial world. IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant behind the plush orangutan he carries, leaned into the moment. It posted a picture of two of the plush toys hugging each other with the title, “Sometimes, family is who we find along the way,” and the caption, “We’re ALL Punch’s family now.”

But who is Punch? Why was he abandoned? What is the story behind the stuffed orangutan? And what does science actually say about maternal rejection, abandonment trauma, and emotional stress in primates?

Story of ‘Punch’

Punch is a baby Japanese macaque born in July last year at Ichikawa City Zoo, located outside Tokyo. The species, scientifically known as Macaca fuscata, is native to Japan and is known for its strong social bonds and complex troop hierarchies.

Punch’s life began under difficult circumstances. Shortly after birth, his mother abandoned him. According to zoo officials, an onlooker first noticed something was wrong and alerted the keepers. In Japanese macaques, infants typically cling to their mothers almost constantly during early life. This contact is not only crucial for warmth and nutrition but also for muscle development, emotional security, and learning social cues. Without that attachment, survival becomes precarious.

Zookeeper Kosuke Shikano told Reuters that intervention had to be swift. “This stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold,” Shikano said. “We thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help Punch integrate back into the troop later on, and that’s why we chose it.”

Before settling on the now-famous orange plush, the keepers experimented with substitutes, including rolled-up towels and other stuffed toys. None worked as effectively as the IKEA orangutan. Punch has rarely been seen without it since, dragging the toy everywhere despite it being larger than him.

Early viral clips showed him wandering alone, clutching the toy tightly after being pushed away by older macaques. In some videos, he is seen being dragged and chased. Viewers around the world expressed concern and heartbreak. 

Shikano believes Punch’s mother may have abandoned him because of the extreme July heat at the time of his birth. While abandonment may appear harsh, in the animal kingdom it can sometimes be linked to stress, inexperience, or environmental pressures.

Punch has had “some differences” with other monkeys while trying to communicate, zoo officials say, but they describe this as part of the normal integration process. “I think there will come a day when he no longer needs his stuffed toy,” Shikano said. For now, however, the orangutan remains his anchor – a surrogate comfort in the absence of maternal care.

Why do mothers abandon? What science says about maternal rejection

Punch’s story raises a deeper question: why would a mother abandon her infant? Is it purely stress, or is there more complexity behind maternal behaviour in primates?

Maternal rejection in Japanese macaques is complex and not always purely harmful. Studies show that while some infants are abandoned due to stress or inexperience, especially first-time or low-ranking mothers, early rejection can sometimes be linked to greater independence and better coping with stress later in life.

A 2001 study investigating Japanese macaques examined the relationship between early maternal style and later behaviour in offspring. The researchers reported that, “Early maternal style had no effect on baseline behaviour of offspring when adult. In contrast, early maternal style was correlated with the response of adult offspring to stressful social interactions, and particularly with their response to actual or potential aggression. Infants whose mothers encouraged more independence showing high rates of rejection were less fearful and did cope better with stressful situations when adult.”

“Although based on correlational data, these results suggest that in macaques maternal rejection can promote offspring independence and the development of a less anxious personality,” it added. 

In other words, maternal rejection is not always purely detrimental. In some cases, higher early rejection was associated with greater independence and resilience later in life. However, this does not mean abandonment is harmless; rather, it highlights that maternal behaviour operates along a spectrum.

A 2005 study analysing long-term demographic data from a captive colony of Japanese macaques offered further insight. It found that 7.7% of liveborn infants were abandoned at birth. The probability of abandonment increased significantly among primiparous mothers – those giving birth for the first time, and, to a lesser extent, low-ranking mothers.

“Primiparous mothers abandoned about 40% of their infants at birth. Mother age and infant sex had no independent effects on the probability of neonatal abandonment,” the researchers reported. They added that primiparous mothers who did not abandon their infants still faced increased infant mortality and longer intervals before subsequent births.

The study concluded that these findings were “partially consistent with adaptive hypotheses predicting maternal divestment under unfavourable conditions, and with proximate explanations linking abandonment to inexperience and stress.”

More recently, a 2024 study following two wild groups of Japanese macaques on Yakushima Island examined whether maternal behaviour influences juvenile development beyond infancy. Researchers observed 35 juveniles and assessed whether maternal rejection or protectiveness affected social behaviours.

They found that juveniles whose mothers frequently rejected them approached and played with others more often, independent of the mother’s presence. In contrast, juveniles of more protective mothers interacted less, but only when their mothers were nearby. The researchers concluded that “maternal rejection appears to exert a generalised effect on offspring behaviour that endures when mothers are absent,” whereas the effects of maternal protectiveness may be more temporary.

Stress, hormones, and social behaviour

Maternal behaviour in macaques is not only shaped by social hierarchy but also by physiological stress. A 2003 study examined the link between hormonal changes and maternal responsiveness in Japanese macaques.

Eight females were observed during the first 12 weeks after giving birth. Researchers collected faecal samples before and after parturition to measure cortisol and estradiol levels. They found that postpartum cortisol levels showed a positive correlation with maternal rejection.

The study reported that “postpartum cortisol levels showed a positive correlation with maternal rejection. The cortisol/estradiol ratio was positively correlated with rejection and latency of response, and negatively correlated with maternal responsiveness.”

The researchers concluded that stress hormones alone do not predict maternal quality. “Our findings suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity per se is not enough to predict the quality of interaction between mother and infant. Only when cortisol is high relative to estradiol could it be symptomatic of a possible negative feedback response involving stress, adrenal activity, and the ability of mothers to cope with the additional problems imposed by newborns.”

This suggests that environmental or physiological stress, such as extreme heat, which Punch’s zookeeper mentioned, may disrupt maternal bonding by altering hormonal balance.

Another study explored the social dynamics of aggression and grooming in captive Japanese macaques. It found that female macaques did not necessarily reduce aggression toward those who groomed them most. Interestingly, while they did not generally groom those who attacked them most, they did show increased grooming toward aggressive non-kin group mates.

“Although generally they did not direct more grooming to those group mates that attacked them most, they did show increased grooming towards those nonkin group mates that showed the most aggression,” the researchers noted. 

These findings highlight the complex and sometimes strategic nature of macaque social interactions.

The zoo culture 

Research on zoo environments shows that exhibit design and space significantly shape the behaviour of Japanese macaque. A 2019 study at Zoo de Granby examined what happened when two groups were merged and moved into a larger, more complex enclosure. The researchers noted, “Zoos invest a large amount of effort into building exhibits; therefore, it is beneficial to have empirical data on the animals’ behaviour before and after they are translocated.” After relocation, the newly formed group was more inactive (p<0.001), self-groomed less (p=0.009), and showed less vigilance (p=0.014) compared to one previous group, while most differences with the other group were not significant. Over four months, inactivity decreased and vigilance stabilised, suggesting gradual habituation to the new space.

Another 2022 review found that larger enclosures with natural vegetation improve activity patterns in Japanese macaque. The authors note, “Larger enclosures with natural substrate and vegetation increase foraging behaviour and lead to activity budgets that are more similar to activity budgets of wild NHPs.”

In the reviewed study, although macaques had 24-hour access to indoor and outdoor spaces, “space and foraging opportunities were still restricted.” They spent 54.6% of their time resting and only 11.5% foraging.

Compared to other captive groups in larger enclosures, resting and grooming were higher, while moving and foraging were lower. The review concludes that “differences in housing conditions likely explain why activity budgets differ between captive studies.”

This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS