Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens' "Peonchi"
Story Goes Viral on Social Media
Weekend Visitor Numbers Double
Companies Including Ikea Japan Join in Support
Baby Japanese macaque Peonchi at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, is drawing huge attention on social media.
On February 18, Japanese media outlets including the Mainichi Shimbun reported Peonchi's story, noting that visitor numbers at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens have surged due to the baby monkey, who has recently become a social media star.
Male baby monkey Peonchi was born on July 26, 2025, weighing about 500 g at the time. However, his mother was exhausted by the pain of her first delivery and the extreme heat, and she was unable to care for him. As a result, the zookeepers began hand-rearing him from the day after he was born. In the case of monkeys, they have a habit of gaining a sense of security by grabbing onto their mother's fur immediately after birth.
The zookeepers had hoped that another mother monkey in the troop would take Peonchi in, but Peonchi was ultimately rejected. As a result, the zookeepers hand-fed Peonchi infant formula and raised him. In the meantime, Peonchi also needed something he could cling to for comfort. The zookeepers tried to find an alternative by providing towels and various stuffed toys, and among them Peonchi chose an orangutan doll from Ikea. After that, Peonchi began clinging tightly to the doll and found emotional stability, and when footage of him walking around with the doll was released on the zoo's official social media accounts, it quickly went viral with the hashtag "#CheerUpPeonchi".
The zookeepers had hoped that another mother monkey in the troop would take Peonchi in, but Peonchi was ultimately rejected. As a result, the zookeepers hand-fed Peonchi infant formula and raised him. This was shared on social media.
In addition, companies joined in supporting Peonchi's popularity. On February 17, Ikea Japan visited the zoo in person and donated 33 stuffed toys, including the orangutan doll, along with 7 storage items. Ikea Japan said, "We are happy that an Ikea doll is supporting Peonchi in his daily life," adding, "We hope that one day Peonchi will be fully integrated with the other monkeys and no longer need the doll." The zoo said it plans to place the donated stuffed toys in children's experience areas and nursing rooms so that visitors can enjoy them as well.
Meanwhile, after Peonchi's story became widely known, about 8,000 visitors came to the zoo over the weekend of February 14-15, roughly double the usual weekend average. The zoo apologized for the larger-than-expected crowds and promised to improve its operations.
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