One sleepless night, I was mindlessly scrolling on my computer and came across a video of a little monkey named Punch.
I wasn’t the only one captivated by this adorable monkey whose life is anything but easy.
Over 90 million people around the world have watched videos of Punch.
The reason?
Punch reminds us of ourselves.
A little background.
In July, a macaque monkey was born at the small Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan and was abandoned by his mother shortly after birth.
The zookeepers had no idea why the mother abandoned the infant. All they knew was they had a tiny motherless monkey, starving for attention.
To help, the zookeepers gave Punch an IKEA stuffed toy that resembled an orangutan. Instantly, Punch hung on to that comfort plushie much as a needy child hugs a stuffed animal.
When Punch was old enough, the zookeepers released him to the troop, making sure the little monkey had his stuffed animal/surrogate mother.
The experience was brutal.
The monkeys attacked Punch, chasing, pushing, and hitting the young monkey. Punch would run away to his stuffed animal, crying in fear.
He dragged the stuffed toy everywhere he went, huddle up with it, sometimes hiding, sometimes crying, whenever other monkeys would come around.
The only times Punch would venture out alone were when his two favorite zookeepers would enter the barren enclosure.
Punch would jump up on their legs, scurry up their backs and ride around on the zookeepers’ shoulders while they fed the other monkeys.
Sometimes, the zookeepers kept Punch with them. Other times, they’d gently put Punch down, hoping he’d connect with the others. According to experts, there’s a social hierarchy and Punch needed to fit in.
News of Punch’s rough life spread on social media. Soon, the zoo was seeing hundreds of visitors a day, with lines stretching outside the zoo’s gates to see Baby Punch.
Millions have watched videos of him, frustrated when he was being bullied and cheering when his favorite zookeepers carry him around.
Feelings are so strong for Punch that a fund with Change.org has been established to relocate Punch from the concrete mountain in Japan to a nurturing sanctuary where he can socialize in a more natural setting.
But, despite the somewhat stark conditions at the Ichikawa City Zoo, Punch appears to be improving. He’s spending less time alone, and he seems more confident.
After weeks of being ostracized, Punch isn’t being picked on as much, and he’s bonded with a female macaque in the troop.
There’s a reason this little monkey has captured so many hearts. He’s all of us who’ve been bullied in life. He reminds us how important it is to have someone hold us and comfort us.
He’s us when life treats us harshly and we feel we don’t have a friend in the world. But Punch has something special – he never gave up. Despite the hits and slaps and rejections, Punch kept hoping to find someone to love him.
Punch taught us to keep trying. Even if we’re the smallest one in the room, the face that’s rejected because it’s new or pushed away, we can’t give up.
We need to believe someone will see us for the special being we are.
Thanks, Punch, for reminding us that having a little hope and to always keep trying are the best qualities we can possess.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.