The macaque monkey was rejected by his mother and melted the hearts of thousands of people. Now he is getting a browser game that promotes a good cause.
There are some things that are simply unforgivable. For example, when someone doesn’t replace the used toilet paper roll with a new one or puts the milk carton back in the fridge with just the last sip left in it. Or when baby monkeys are teased and rejected.
That’s exactly what happened to little macaque monkey Punch—the rejection, not the milk. But Punch is not alone. He lives in Ishikawa Zoo in Japan and has conquered the world from there. Now he is even the star of his own video game.
Rejected by monkeys, loved by humans
Punch didn’t have an easy start in life. After he was born on July 26, 2025, he was rejected by his mother, as sometimes happens with macaque monkeys. The zoo keepers stepped in, and when they weren’t around, there was always the IKEA orangutan stuffed animal:
🐒パンチくんたくさん遊んで✨
🦧オランママと安心可愛い寝💕☺️
🦧オランママ🐾足が水💦に濡れて少し寒そうですが…
🐒 I’m trying not to wake Punch-kun🥹#市川市動植物園
2026/2 pic.twitter.com/s3fPDXqqH3— とんがり Panda🐼🎀 (@yui_390tongari) February 22, 2026
Link to Twitter content
But the bad relationship with his mother wasn’t the end of it. As Punch grew older, he repeatedly tried to make contact with the other monkeys in the group.
Unfortunately, his attempts fell on deaf ears and he was repeatedly chased away and even physically attacked. We’ll spare you the latter, but this clip gives you an insight into Punch’s everyday life:
子ザルのパンチくん、群れに慣れようと毎日コミュニケーションを努力中🤭🌸#Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden #Panchi
pic.twitter.com/LIiH6OFVum— ミハミハ (@mihamiha_trend) February 22, 2026
Link to Twitter content
On social media, users are rooting for the little guy and keeping their fingers crossed that he’ll soon find a place among his peers. Until then, you can step into the breach on his behalf and take down the bullies in a video game.
Punch becomes a Zoofighter
Former Fortnite developer Richie Branson quickly got to work on the drawing board and created a cute little browser game. In Zoofighter, you play as Punch and dish out punches to attackers coming from left and right.
Once you’ve knocked 100 opponents to the ground, something happens. Of course, we’re not going to tell you what. In the “Learn More” tab of the game, you can find out the reason behind this cute little game. Zoofighter is a love letter to animals that spend their lives in zoos.
For primates, it is often better to be nursed back to health in animal shelters than in zoos, where the focus is on exhibiting the animals.
Wild animals need larger, more natural habitats and must be protected from neglect and captivity. You can find such shelters in your area through the German Animal Welfare Association .
This makes Zoofighter more than just a simple fan game for a zoo monkey that went viral. It is also a criticism of the living conditions to which animals like Punch are exposed. Above all, Punch remains an example of how the individual fates of animals can attract attention and spark discussions about species-appropriate husbandry.
