Punch the baby monkey has captured – and broken – hearts around the world after turning to a toy orang-utan for comfort while struggling to find acceptance among his troop at a Japanese zoo.

For anyone not in the loop, the seven-month-old Japanese macaque first gained attention when his keepers at Ichikawa City Zoo posted a photo of him on social media with the stuffed toy, which has acted like a kind of surrogate parent or companion since he was abandoned by his actual mother.

The post explained he had been living with the troop at the zoo since January 19, adding: “Please watch over Punch’s growth with warm support!”

The plea was quickly heeded, as video clips of Punch went viral and his millions of fans embarked on an emotional journey alongside the baby monkey who clung to the plushie dubbed “Ora-mama” when his fellow macaques gave him the cold shoulder or, worse, scolded him roughly.

The good news is that the latest updates from Punch’s zookeeper suggest the little monkey is doing well and enjoying increasingly positive interactions with his fellow troop members.

“From what I could see, there were no scenes of him being scolded, and he was observed playing with the other baby monkeys.” says their latest post on X.

“During mealtime, he came down from the keeper’s foot on his own and started eating by himself. He continues to do well!”

Earlier, on February 22, the zoo shared a video of Punch with an older monkey, who appeared to be giving him cuddles.

“Thanks to everyone’s good manners, it was a calm atmosphere with no fights or anything like that,” said the post. “Punch, around 5pm, was meticulously groomed by two monkeys and is steadily fitting into the group.”

The public outpouring of concern for Punch – who was named after Manga artist Monkey Punch – has been fuelled by the trending hashtag #HangInTherePunch.

One particularly distressing and widely shared video showed him being dragged around aggressively by an adult monkey before running off to hide behind a rock while clinging to “Ora-mama”.

It prompted the zoo to release a statement giving context to the clip, saying the behaviour occurred after Punch tried to communicate with another baby monkey. It said the adult was probably the baby’s mother, and scolded Punch because she felt he had upset her infant.

Contrary to the “bullying” claims that accompanied the viral clip, the zoo insisted no one other monkey had shown “serious aggression” towards the youngster.

“When Punch is scolded, he shows resilience and mental strength,” said the zookeepers, who have also had to fend off other criticisms of their care for the monkeys.

“When you observe these disciplinary behaviours from other troop members towards Punch when he tries to communicate with them, we would like you to support Punch’s effort rather than feel sorry for him.”

The monkey’s following has continued to grow – so much so that if you type “Punch the baby monkey” into a Google search today, dozens of cute heart-shaped illustrations of a baby macaque with an orange toy will cascade across your screen.

Punch’s fans have this week expressed relief at seeing how he is integrating more positively with his troop and no longer lonely.

“Punch-kun with Oran-mama is cute, but this kind of look is the absolute best!” one user responded to the X post showing him being embraced by an adult monkey.

“Oh thank god I can sleep now,” another wrote.

Meanwhile, as well as shining spotlight on Punch, the videos of his trials and tribulations have ignited demand for his pal “Ora-mama”.

When looking for an alternative to a real mother to help comfort and calm the baby monkey, the zoo reportedly also offered him a towel and other soft toys, but Punch chose the orang-utan – which is sold by Swedish retailer IKEA with the name Djungelskog.

“It was easy for him to grab,” a zookeeper told Fuji TV.

“Maybe he also liked [that] it looked like a monkey.”

The toy retails for $15.99 in Australia and is still available in some parts of the country. But it has reportedly sold out in the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea due to Punch’s story creating “unprecedented demand”.

Some online sellers are attempting to cash in on Djungelskog’s popularity with listings over $A150.

“Within the last week, we have seen an above 200 per cent increase in sales, selling more than 990 of the soft toy across our Australian stores and online – more than doubling the weekly average of 400 sold per week,” an IKEA spokesperson told news.com.au.

IKEA has donated more stuffed toys for Punch. Source: X

Meanwhile, an IKEA representative in Japan has visited Ichikawa City Zoo – where fans have queued for hours to see Punch in the Monkey Mountain enclosure – and donated more stuffed orang-utans and other plush toys for the little monkey.

“We hope the gifted plush toys can continue to be a source of comfort and help Punch gradually adjust to the troop,” Ichikawa City Mayor Ko Tanaka said in an X post.

“Let’s all keep supporting him together.”