Baby Monkey Befriends Plushie, Just Like Viral Punch the Monkey
Yuji, the Patas monkey, likes to cling to his comfort plush toy, just like Punch, the baby monkey that went viral.
In a TikTok video posted by NBC News, the six-week-old baby monkey is being called "Punch the Monkey 2.0," after he went viral for clinging to his own plush toy for comfort. In the video, NBC News explained that "Just like Punch, Yuji is not going to let go of his favorite little stuffy."
@nbcnews A baby patas monkey at a Mexican zoo has been given a stuffed teddy bear for comfort after its inexperienced mother was unable to care for it, zoo officials said.
original sound - nbcnews - nbcnews
According to staff at the Guadalajara Zoo in Mexico, the toy "basically acts as his mom after he was abandoned." The Associated Press (AP) also reported that "the tiny primate was rejected by his own mother, Kamaria, a first-time parent [who was] unable to form a maternal bond."
But unlike Punch, Yuji has not yet had contact with other members of his species and has been residing at the Guadalajara Zoo's Comprehensive Center for Animal Medicine and Welfare, where he's under the supervision of 12 veterinarians and biologists.
According to Iván Reynoso Ruiz, one of the vets watching over Yuji, the time Yuji will join the other monkeys in the habitat "will depend on when he is weaned from a milk-only diet and starts an adult diet complete with fruits and vegetables."
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Why baby monkeys cling to stuffed animals for comfort
While it's absolutely adorable to see baby monkeys like Yuji and Punch latch on to a stuffed toy, NBC News revealed that "there's some science behind [why baby monkeys cling to] the stuffies."
The outlet explained that "they're used to help baby Yuji's development so he can get stronger and meet the rest of his monkey friends eventually at the zoo."
Back in March, after Yuji's mother gave birth, zoo staff noticed that she exhibited unusual behavior around him and "struggled to hold her firstborn correctly, leaving the infant unable to secure a grip on its mother," per AP.
"After noticing a problem, keepers separated the mother from her newborn, who weighed just 443 grams (less than a pound) and required immediate placement in an incubator at CIMBA to stabilize his temperature and safeguard his health," Reynoso Ruiz told the outlet.
From them, Yuji was given a stuffed toy for comfort, and he noted that "the toy fulfills the role of a mother by serving as his primary source of security." Staff would rotate between a stuffed bear and a dog for hygiene purposes, but they'd ensure he was never alone.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 1:29 PM.