• by Tanya Gazdik , 3 hours ago

An Ikea stuffed toy that's been dragged around a Japanese zoo enclosure by a viral baby macaque is flying off the shelves of the Scandinavian retailer. 

“Punch, also known as Panchi-kun, is a seven-month-old Japanese macaque born in July,” according to Business Insider. “His mother abandoned him shortly after birth, and he was later rejected by other monkeys at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. To soothe him, zookeepers gave him a brown orangutan plush from Ikea.”

Before the incident, Ikea donated stuffed animals for Punch and other animals at the zoo.

“Punch's fame exploded last week when he was approached by an adult monkey in his troop who proceeded to drag him on the ground in circles before the baby managed to escape and run to his stuffed orangutan, which was sitting in a corner of the enclosure,” according to USA Today. “An onlooker captured a video of the incident, which has since gone viral.”

Shortly after the bullying incident, Ikea posted a photo of a plush monkey wrapping its arms around the comfort orangutan listed as Djungelskog, which the company sells for $19.99, with the words: "We're ALL Punch's family now.”

Javier Quiñones, CEO and CSO of IKEA U.S. and now Commercial Manager at Ingka Group, tells TMZ the orangutan plush has long been one of the retailer's most sought-after toys, but Punch's viral story has given it "a little extra love."

Videos of Punch clinging tightly to the orangutan toy have racked up millions of views on TikTok. The clips turned the lonely macaque into an internet star.

Apparently Punch isn’t the only one who needs comforting. 

“Ikea has sold out of its adorable Djungelskog orangutan soft toy, with the $20 item now fetching more than 10 times the retail price on eBay,” according to the New York Post. “Heartwarming photos of Punch playing with the plushie immediately went viral worldwide, prompting the toy to sell out at all Ikea stores in the US, Japan, and South Korea.”

A quick check of the U.S. eBay site shows 2,300+ results for punch monkey and 563 results for Djungelskog. Buy-it-now prices start closer to the retail price and go all the way up to $1,765.80 (or best offer) for plushie located in Italy. There are many $200+ listings.