Happy birthday, Punch the monkey, many friends to you
The tragic image of lonely young Punch clutching his doll, eyes exuding a fear and insecurity that so many human beings can identify with, made him a viral sensation.
There is, in the story of a lonely monkey, an all-too-human tale. Born a year ago at the zoo in Ichikiwa, Japan, Punch’s early months were a bit of a tragedy. He was abandoned by his mother, likely because she was too exhausted after his birth to care for him. A bit of a runt, he was rejected by the other young simians in his troop. Bottle-fed by zookeepers, Punch’s closest companion was a stuffed toy — an orangutan — that was given to him. The tragic image of lonely young Punch clutching his doll, eyes exuding a fear and insecurity that so many human beings can identify with, made him a viral sensation. The footfall at the zoo grew by thousands wanting to see Punch, and he has received scores of birthday cards from his many well-wishers around the world.
A year on, though, Punch is no longer just a mirror for the alone, the lonely and the rejected. He has, gingerly at first and gradually with more confidence, reached out to the other young monkeys and made friends. And it’s not because the donations raised by the zoo in his name paid for an air-conditioning system in the monkey enclosure. It’s because Punch is finally coming out of the shell of his tragic early months.
Unlike then, when he was easy to spot in the enclosure, far from the madding crowd, Punch is now often difficult to tell apart from his new friends. Perhaps, on his first birthday, he no longer needs stuffed toys and cards expressing love and sympathy. Maybe well-wishers could give him some bananas to share with the gang. And set up more monkey bars for them to hang out on.
