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Punch the monkey may have been abandoned by his peers, but he found a place in our hearts

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published February 27, 2026 at 8:51 AM PST

This photo taken on February 19, 2026 shows a 7 month-old male macaque monkey named Punch, who was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, spending time with a stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture. (Jiji press/AFP via Getty Images)

Have you spent the week checking social media for updates on how Punch the macaque monkey is doing? Well, if so, you aren’t alone.

Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd talks with Michelle Del Rey, a trending news reporter at USA Today, about how and why Punch has captured our hearts and attention.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Punch the monkey may have been abandoned by his peers, but he found a place in our hearts

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Punch the monkey may have been abandoned by his peers, but he found a place in our hearts

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