What's Trending Pop Culture

After a dramatic month-long-saga, here's how Punch-Kun's story is meeting its end!

author-image
Ritesh Singh
New Update
punch the monkey reaction

When Punch, the baby monkey from Japan, was bullied, the internet spiralled into a dark rabbit hole; however, his story taught us not just empathy but also resilience.

If you have no idea who Punch, the baby monkey is, then you redefine what living under a rock means. This one bullied monkey brought the entire internet to a sudden halt. He made a realm that wages war all the time set its differences aside and unite under one banner. His impact wasn't just emotional; it transcended the boundaries of pop culture and commercial media. Punch is the Penguin of February but his story goes beyond running up a hill. 

Punch and the sad reason for his virality

An 8-month-old Japanese macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, Punch recently went viral, after a clip of him being bullied by several older monkeys surfaced online. Sad, yes, but what left the internet devastated was his running back to a plushie for support and comfort. It was a punch to the heart to learn that zookeepers had given him the orangutan plushie he treasured so dearly, which was to comfort him after his mother abandoned him just days after his birth.

Also Read: Weekly Roundup: Nancy Tyagi inspires a new generation of designers, Meta rolls out an array of across its platforms.

The Punch movement!

What started with a sad video turned into a global phenomenon, as the internet rallied in with support. People quickly expressed a desire to travel to Japan to adopt him and save him from the bullies. They even went on to buy and donate the same plushie to make sure he never feels alone. The IKEA plushie caught the eyes of the company's president, who visited the zoo and donated similar stuffed toys.

It was no longer a reaction but a movement solely for him. People wanted answers since videos of him being left alone and getting bullied kept popping up. Enraged people wanted to know what the zoo was doing to safeguard him, and soon enough, the zoo came forward with a response. They revealed that the monkey who punched him did it out of a misunderstanding and that the zoo expected such behaviour to arise, as a new monkey is being introduced into the troop.

Days after the incident, thanks to online support and wishes, along with the hard work of zookeepers, he is slowly but gradually being accepted into the troop. He's even been spotted standing up and fighting back when threatened. 

The impact he had on the world

In today's world, empathy is often lost in the hustle, leaving people feeling alone, craving love and attention. Punch and his orangutan plushie turned out to be an outward manifestation of this feeling. When the world saw a bullied and abandoned monkey cling to a lifeless plushie, it resurfaced the empathy humans have forgotten in the chaos of upward growth.

This impact rippled across the world through memes and posts. Netizens flooded the internet with posts relating to his situation, while the commercial world capitalised on this wave of emotions. From brands like Haldiram and IKEA, to shows like 'Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chasma' and official Instagram pages like Delhi Police, made content around him to sell their products and stories. 

The story's end

The internet showered Punch with not just love but also attention, with content pumping faster than how quickly he ran for his plushie. Overnight, Punch became a celebrity and now massive lines form outside the zoo every day only for him. He's starting to blend in with the other monkeys and slowly started to get away from his emotional-support plushie. He's moving on in life now, as the internet shifts its focus to the insanely attractive zookeeper. 

Here's how the world has been reacting to this for the past week!

Would you fly off to save Punch? Let us know in the comments below!

For more trends and infotainment, follow us on @socialketchup

Viral Trending Instagram