An orphaned monkey shunned by his mother at a Japanese zoo has received 2,500 cards for his first birthday.
Punch, a macaque who lives in Ichikawa city zoo, near Tokyo, sought comfort in a plush toy orangutan after being left alone in his enclosure.
But as he turned one today, he was inundated with birthday cards from around the world which were pinned to the wall of an indoor exhibit detailing his early life for visitors.
In recent months Punch had seemed to integrate with other monkeys and use his plush orangutan less – he was seen riding on the back of another monkey, sitting with the adults and being groomed and hugged.
Punch's mother abandoned him soon after he was born, believed to be because of exhaustion.
