Motherhood, Comfort & Loss: Why Punch-kun's Pain Feels So Personal

Recently, a story of an abandoned monkey named Punch-kun went viral on social media. Punch-kun, aka Punch, is a baby Japanese macaque (snow monkey) born on July 26, 2025, at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As per reports, soon after his birth, his mother abandoned him as she lost interest in caring for him. It was the zookeepers who stepped in, as they knew infants need constant care. They fed him with a bottle, watched over him, and offered him soft toys to play with.

That's when a large stuffed orangutan plush toy became his favourite, and he never forgets to carry it wherever he goes. Videos that have surfaced on the internet show how he hugs it tightly while sleeping, drags it through his enclosure, and turns to it when feeling lonely or unsure.

Punch-kun's story

In the zoo, there were about 60 macaques, and the staffs introduced Punch to the group in mid-January 2026. At first he was treated an outsider and his mother was also not there to protect him. However, recent updates show that he is slowly being accepted and has formed bonds with some of them.

IKEA Japan (maker of the plush toy) visited the zoo and joined hands to donate multiple stuffed animals to Punch so he always has one available.  His story even made its way into pop culture mentions, like on US TV talk shows, where hosts used the story to comment on kindness, comfort, and resilience.

Reflection on emotional bond 

Although, this cute and innocent baby is getting support from all over the world, can anyone in the universe reduce his pain of surviving abandonment, comfort him when he is vulnerable? No! His attachment to the plush toy symbolises how much he miss his mother.

A monkey and human being falls under the same species and hence we can say that they share similar emotions with their mothers. When a baby monkey's separation from his mother moves the world to tears, why do we normalise the separation of children from their mothers in the human society?

The Punch-kun viral story touched the hearts of people all over the world. Millions of people were moved by Punch-kun’s grip on a stuffed toy, which symbolized his longing and vulnerability. We termed it heartbreaking. We termed it tragic. We termed it cruel. But in our own world, such emotional divisions take place in a silent manner in homes, courts, and custody battles — without the same level of collective empathy.

In the current world, the structure of families is undergoing a change. The rate of divorce is increasing, and although divorce may be necessary for the well-being of the adults involved, the emotional toll on the children is often underestimated. When a child is separated from their mother, either through custody disputes, social conditions, migration for employment, or internal conflicts, the pain may not be apparent, but it is there.

The Emotional Foundation of Motherhood

A mother is not merely a caregiver; she is often a child’s first emotional anchor. Right from the beginning, the child is familiar with the voice, the touch, and the presence of the mother.

Attachment theory, among other psychological concepts, states that this early attachment influences the child’s perception of feeling secure, trusting others, and managing their emotions. Losing this attachment, particularly if the child is young, can have a long-term effect.

Consider Punch-kun hugging his teddy bear for comfort. This is what humans do too—search for substitutes when there are gaps in our emotional needs. Some kids just hold on to things, some hide in screens, and some just go quiet. The absence of maternal warmth is not always evidenced by screaming; sometimes it is more quietly expressed.

Custody, Conflict, and the Child’s Heart

In many divorce cases, custody battles become prolonged legal conflicts. While courts attempt to determine what is “best” for the child, the emotional turbulence of separation can be overwhelming. Children may pick up on the pull between mom and dad, feel guilty, or be concerned about a parent leaving them.

This doesn’t necessarily mean shame or that divorce is a bad thing. It has everything to do with being aware that when families break apart, we have to remain thoughtful and find a balance. When systems are so focused on legal rights and not the emotional part of things, the hurt child can fall between the cracks.

The Silent Pain of Mothers

On the contrary of Punch-kun’s story, where the world rushed to provide comfort, many human mothers endure separation quietly. Some are reduced to limited visitation rights. Some face social judgement. Some people miss the ordinary signs: bedtime stories, school functions, the small victories that make childhood what it is.

Distance doesn’t diminish motherhood, but the pain of separation can be profound. A mother apart from her child carries a constant emotional void. A void that, as a society, we so often forget to validate in the same loving way that we validate a baby monkey.

A Call for Emotional Sensitivity

Punch-kun’s story reminded us of the universality of maternal bonds. If we can feel the macaque’s lack of care with our hearts, perhaps it is what pushes us to think about maternal separation in a different way here. Children need more than a set of written guidelines. They need emotional protection.

Mothers need more than just a name; they need understanding. Separation may be required in some instances, but indifference is not. When Punch-kun holds his toy in a hug, his longing is evident. The question is, when a human child hugs a pillow at night, do we see it too?

Views expressed by the author are their own.