For days, the story of the baby macaque Punch, rejected by his mother in the Ichikawa zoo in Japan, who developed a deep and – for us – very tender attachment to a monkey soft toy provided by the zoo staff, has been making the rounds on the web. An inanimate object which however became something much more for her: a presence, an emotional support, almost a relationship. A story that is striking for its tenderness, but which actually opens a window onto something much deeper: the need to belong, one of the fundamental pillars of social life, not only of monkeys, but also of ours.
The story of the macaque Punch and his stuffed animal
It all started from a video that went viral, shot inside a zoo in Ichikawa (in the Tokyo metropolitan area), in which we see a 6-month-old baby macaque, called Punch, in a controlled environment together with other individuals of the same species. In the first months of his life, however, Punch is rejected and abandoned by his mother. An event which, in nature, is not so rare if linked to various conditions: chronic stress, difficulties related to childbirth, artificially composed social groups, primiparous mothers, deficiencies in maternal learning in previous generations or even human interference in the early stages of building the mother-puppy bond. Rather than looking for “fault”, it is important to understand what happens to the child when this bond is lost.
In the case of Japanese macaques, physical contact is central from the first weeks of life: the relationship with the mother passes through constant proximity, grooming (mutual cleaning) and learning by observation within a structured social group. Punch, not having access to these fundamental experiences, gradually begins to be marginalized by the rest of the group. Interactions are reduced, social contact is interrupted and the puppy remains increasingly isolated, until it is actually removed and excluded completely.
At that point the zookeepers intervened and introduced a stuffed monkey into the environment as a form of enrichment and comfort. It is precisely here that the scene that has touched millions of people takes place: Punch begins to always keep the stuffed animal with him, hugs it, holds it and uses it as a point of reference in moments of solitude. With the support of operators and experts, the puppy is gradually starting a process of reintegration into the group. A story that, therefore, seems to be heading towards a happy ending.
Because the case of the baby monkey in Japan also speaks to us
Punch’s story enlightens us on two fundamental aspects, which concern not only macaques but also us human beings: attachment and the need to belong.
Punch has not developed such an intense relationship with the stuffed animal because he thinks it is true, but because an adaptive response to a relational lack is activated. When we are denied such an important relationship, our emotional system does not shut down. It fits. Look for replacements. He holds on (in this case literally) to what he can. And this, let’s be honest, sounds familiar to us.
The need to belong to a group is considered a primary need, like eating and sleeping. From an evolutionary point of view it is perfectly logical: being in a group increased the probability of survival; it guaranteed security, cooperation and reproduction; also, be excluded meant being exposed to greater dangers, having fewer resources and protection.
In fact, for many social species, including ours, being isolated means entering a condition of severe stress. It’s not just an emotional issue: it increases the level of cortisol (the stress hormone) and activates brain circuits similar to those of physical pain. Compensatory behaviors may emerge, such as attachment to objects that we saw in action with Punch.
This is why our brains evolved to reward social connection and suffer isolation. We see it continuously in our daily lives too: we fight to be accepted, to be part of a group, to not be left out.
Alongside this aspect, there is that of attachment. On the other hand, the British psychologist John Bowlby understood it decades ago: the bond with a reference figure is a biological necessity. According to the psychologist, it serves a fundamental function: to provide a secure base. What does this mean concretely?
- Knowing that someone is available;
- Feeling protected in times of stress;
- Have a place from which to explore the world.
In other words, attachment is not just about “being less alone”. It serves to build who we are, together with our sense of self-esteem, the ability to regulate emotions, to feel trust in others and even to outline our identity.
This is why we shouldn’t be surprised when it seems so difficult to leave a partner even if the relationship doesn’t work, or when, in order not to be alone, we maintain bonds that make us suffer, or even when we create virtual bonds that seem to fill a void. It may not be adaptive or functional, but at least understandable.
It’s not just insecurity or weakness. It’s also biology. The brain fears exclusion more than it loves freedom.
Harry Harlow’s experiments
The story of Punch immediately brings to mind the experiments of the psychologist Harry Harlow. In 1958, Harlow had already observed something very similar: in his famous experiment on rhesus macaques, he separated cubs from their biological mother and offered them two “surrogate mothers”: a wire structure that provided milk, and a soft “mother” covered in cloth, without nourishment.
The result was surprising: the little ones spent up to 17-18 hours a day clinging to the cloth “mother”, looking for her especially in stressful conditions, while they approached the metal structure for less than an overall hour a day (therefore only for the time necessary to feed themselves). Today these studies are fortunately considered unacceptable, but at the time they demonstrated how attachment does not depend only on nourishment, but on contact, comfort and emotional security.
