Songwriters across genres have long penned lyrics about the pain of loneliness and rejection. Usually, those songs reflect the human plight. But thanks to Punch the viral baby monkey, we now have tunes that convey simian heartache.
For anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with social media stars of the animal variety, Punch is an adorable 7-month-old monkey at a Japanese zoo who was abandoned by his mother and shunned by members of his macaque tribe. Some of them can even be seen in online photos and videos attacking him.
The footage also shows Punch running around his enclosure clutching an IKEA stuffed orangutan his zookeepers gave him for comfort and companionship. The heart-tugging sight has endeared Punch to the online masses, who have responded with a collective show of empathy that now has its own soundtrack.
“Other mothers stand and fight, always hold their children right, and never let the world attack,” New York-based actor and songwriter Oliver Richman sings in a melancholy tune that imagines the world from Punch’s perspective. “So why oh why does my mom never seem to hug me back?”
Richman’s song, titled “Other Mothers (Punch’s Soliloquy),” has pulled in almost 99,000 “likes” on TikTok as of this writing. “It’s a soliloquy filled with vulnerability and affection, reminding us of the love that surrounds us, often unrecognized,” Richman writes in a description.
Science shows that humans are wired to care for infants, especially those that share traits with us such as round faces and large eyes. The internet has fallen hard for baby animals before — think MooDeng the viral pygmy hippo in Thailand who inspired memes, merchandise and makeup tutorials aimed at replicating her dewy glow. But Punch’s story has touched a particularly emotional nerve.
“There’s something absolutely soul-crushing about watching someone as innocent as Punch run to the arms of his stuffed-animal mother after being attacked by other macaques,” Richman said in an interview. “I think it speaks to a collective longing to belong and how hard it is to find sometimes.”
Nashville singer and songwriter Sarah Henderson had a similarly strong reaction to to the baby monkey, and channeled it into a country-tinged tearjerker.
“Mama, can you hold me? Make this a better day,” she sings on TikTok. “Mama, I am lonely and I’m always in the way.”
Zookeepers believe the abandonment may have stemmed from the stress of Punch’s mom giving birth for the first time — and during a heatwave. Macaques sometimes sacrifice offspring care if their own survival is threatened. And, as my Forbes colleague Scott Travers explains, the kinds of confrontational interactions seen in Punch videos aren’t unprecedented in macaque societies, where such exchanges often establish social rank and boundaries. Still, nature being nature doesn’t make the scenes any less upsetting to watch.
“I believe we have all felt like Punch at a time in our life and we relate to that hurt,” Greg Smith, a singer and songwriter from Greenville, South Carolina who wrote a song for Punch, said in an interview.
At Last, Punch Gets A Little Love
Thankfully, things seem to be looking up for Punch, who is socializing more and finally getting hugs from adult monkeys. But those embraces haven’t erased memories of the little fella turning to a stuffed animal for cuddles when his own kind won’t provide it.
“Sadness for an animal is another level of pain,” Henderson said in an interview. “The majority of people love and care for animals, so it’s definitely a universal grief watching this little guy.”
So much so that Punch’s fame has increased traffic to the Ichikawa City Zoo, where Punch cuddles with his toy ape. My colleague Forbes contributor Scott Laird shares everything you need to know to visit the famous monkey in person in Ichikawa, just northeast of Tokyo. But for those who can’t make the trip, there are plenty of ways to support Punch from afar — and to witness the outpouring of global love he’s generated.
“It’s been sad but uniting to watch the internet come together and empathize with Punch’s experience,” said Richman, who writes a song a day and posts it online. “Something that I’ve seen a few videos talk about is how you never know who is rooting for you. Punch only sees what’s in front of him, but little does he know that the entire world is on his side. I think that gives me a lot of hope.”
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