Punch, the orphaned macaque at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden, turned 1 on Sunday with about 2,500 birthday cards and other messages from fans in Japan and abroad.
The outpouring followed Punch’s rise to fame after zoo images showed him clinging to an orangutan plushie given by keepers to help develop the gripping ability newborn macaques need.
In mid-January, after six months of special care, Punch entered an enclosure with about 50 other monkeys; when shooed away, he often ran back to the toy for comfort.
February social media posts turned that struggle into a sensation, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the zoo, about half from overseas, while fans rallied around the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
Now mingling with other monkeys and no longer holding the toy, Punch still pulls crowds as visitors say his survival and gradual acceptance resonated beyond simple cuteness.