Punch the baby monkey isn't being bullied: Japan zoo

Punch, a seven-month-old baby macaque, was abandoned by his mother and shot to stardom after he began clinging to a plush orangutan toy from IKEA for comfort at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo. But after the zoo posted on X last month that Punch "had been scolded many times by other monkeys", videos showing him being chased by members of the troop were spread online, alongside claims that he was being bullied. "As a result, we have received many voices of concern from people both in Japan and overseas," the zoo said in a statement Tuesday.