Two Punches? A "double Punch?"

A baby friar monkey in Peru was named after Japan's much-beloved baby snow monkey Punch who has become a global sensation after photos and videos of him and his stuffed orangutan captured hearts worldwide.

READ: LOOK: Punch the baby monkey in Japan captured hearts worldwide but his kin viewed as 'pests'

Punch, the Japanese baby monkey, was abandoned by his mother shortly after he was born on July 26, 2025 in the Ichikawa City Zoo.

Punch or "Punch-kun" was named after Monkey Punch, a popular manga artist in Japan.

A report of Mainichi, a Japanese daily, said Punch weighed only 500 grams when he was born in the heat of summer last year.

Two zookeepers Kosuke Shikano, 24, and Shumpei Miyakoshi, 34, saved Punch by feeding him by hand.

The report noted that baby monkeys “cling to their mother's fur shortly after birth for comfort and to build muscle.”

Zookeepers tried various techniques to help Punch. They gave him towels and stuffed animals to cling to. However, Punch took a liking only to an IKEA stuffed orangutan.

Punch was reintroduced to the other monkeys at Ichikawa City Zoo's "Monkey Mountain" enclosed exhibit area on January 19 and the zoo posted about Punch on X on February 5.

Punch immediately became an overnight sensation with people posting about the monkey with a stuffed orangutan toy.

However, concerns were raised that other monkeys were bullying Punch at the zoo, which houses over 60 monkeys.

The zoo, however, issued a statement that, 'Although Punch has been scolded many times by other monkeys, no single monkey has shown serious aggression toward him'. '

On X, the zoo said, "When you observe these disciplinary behaviors from other troop members toward Punch when he tries to communicate with them, we would like you to support Punch's effort rather than feel sorry for him.."

In a new statement on March 10, the zoo addressed bullyiing issues, saying that the high-ranking macaques have indeed 'demonstrated aggression more frequently' toward Punch.

The zoo said, 'we removed these macaques from the troop on March 8 as a temporary measure.'

"We plan to monitor them carefully in this condition for a while," it added.

Meanwhile, in Peru, a newborn friar monkey was named after Punch.

The friar monkey in Peru, like Punch in Japan, was abandoned at birth and trafficked in the Amazon.

A baby Peruvian friar monkey named Punch, named after the Japanese monkey Punch, who was separated from his mother at birth and trafficked from the Peruvian Amazon, hugs a stuffed animal at Parque Huascar Zoo, in Lima, Peru, March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Angela Ponce TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Punch of Peru also hugs a stuffed animal in Lima's Parque Huascar, a large urban park that has a zoo, a pool, sports facilities, wide green spaces and a big pond.

A baby Peruvian friar monkey named Punch, named after the Japanese monkey Punch, who was separated from his mother at birth and trafficked from the Peruvian Amazon, hugs a stuffed animal at Parque Huascar Zoo, in Lima, Peru, March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Angela Ponce

Veronica Pulumbarit/Paraluman News; photos and captions provided by Reuters