"Videos of Punch - a 7-month-old Japanese macaque - clinging to an Ikea orangutan have racked up millions of views on TikTok. The hashtag #HangInTherePunch has gone viral. Javier Quiñones, commercial manager at Ingka Group, which operates Ikea stores worldwide, told Business Insider that Ikea has seen sales of the Djungelskog orangutan toy increase."
"Getting there took just under 2 hours: three trains and a 30-minute walk. The zoo-bound bus doesn't run on weekdays. Near the entrance, I began spotting both foreign and Japanese visitors climbing out of taxis, clutching monkey stuffed animals. It was obvious who they were there to see."
"There were rows of people lined up around a blue iron fence, phones raised, waiting to capture Punch in action. Spectators oohed as other monkeys climbed the rocky structure to play with a silver chain affixed to the enclosure."
Punch, a 7-month-old Japanese macaque abandoned by his mother and raised by zookeepers at Ichikawa City Zoo near Tokyo, became an internet sensation through TikTok videos showing him clinging to an Ikea Djungelskog orangutan toy. The hashtag #HangInTherePunch accumulated millions of views, prompting visitors from around the world to travel to the zoo to see the baby monkey. The viral attention also boosted sales of the Ikea toy globally. Visitor access to Monkey Mountain was restricted to 10-minute intervals to manage crowds. The zoo's remote location required visitors to take multiple trains and walk 30 minutes, yet tourists still made the journey, many carrying monkey stuffed animals.
Read at Business Insider
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