Overview
- Punch, a seven‑month‑old Japanese macaque at Ichikawa’s Monkey Mountain, was hand‑reared after maternal rejection and formed an attachment to an IKEA orangutan plush used as a surrogate.
- IKEA’s Djungelskog orangutan toy is sold out or nearly sold out in many stores worldwide, and Ingka Group’s Javier Quiñones says the company is working to restock it.
- U.S., Japan and U.K. store checks show scarce inventory, with marked‑up listings appearing on resale sites such as eBay.
- Zoo attendance has surged, with about 9,600 weekend visitors and roughly 47,000 total in February; staff have imposed front‑row viewing time limits of around 10 minutes and banned selfie sticks.
- Recent videos and reports show Punch being groomed and playing with troop members, with longer periods away from the plush as social reintegration steadily improves, and Google has launched an interactive tribute triggered by searching “punch the monkey.”