Japan's monkey sensation Punch gets thousands of messages for first birthday
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Japan's monkey sensation Punch gets thousands of messages for first birthday
Photo: AP
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Punch, the orphaned monkey who captured hearts by clinging to an orangutan plushie, is celebrating his first birthday.
Photo: AP
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Abandoned by his mother shortly after birth, Punch was hand-reared by zookeepers at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden. The plushie helped him develop the gripping ability newborn macaques need to survive.
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Punch no longer needs the toy. Now settled with the other monkeys, he has made friends and grown into a confident young macaque.
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Around 2,500 birthday cards and messages have arrived from Japan and overseas, celebrating the remarkable journey of the monkey who captured hearts around the world.
Photo: AP