【特集】母親から育児放棄されたサル モン吉くんの「今」(26/06/10)

Currently, Punch-kun, a Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden in Chiba Prefecture, is gaining popularity on social media. His courageous efforts to survive, using an orangutan plush toy as a surrogate mother despite being abandoned by his mother, have captured people's hearts. There is another monkey in Kusatsu that grew up in a similar environment to Punch-kun. This is Monkichi-kun, a Japanese macaque at the Kusatsu Tropical Zone. Why are they living separately? Zookeeper: "Three years ago, when a zookeeper arrived for work, he was found abandoned in the monkey enclosure. His mother was nowhere to be seen. He was very weak, so we knew we had to help and immediately began artificial rearing." Monkichi-kun was abandoned by his mother. Artificial rearing by the zookeeper began. Looking at the records from that time... he was fed milk six times a day, approximately every two hours, using a bottle. Approximately four months after his rescue, he finally made his debut in the monkey enclosure. Monkichi-kun bravely approached the leader, but was scareed away. Despite the zookeepers' best efforts to support them, the monkeys were not accepted and they had to give up. Zookeeper: "The monkey enclosure where they were abandoned at the time was in a chaotic state. It's possible that the turbulent situation in the enclosure, perhaps due to a recent change in the alpha male or constant fighting, played a role." Now, they live with Monji, who was also raised by hand. The two have gained attention on social media and have fans nationwide. Visitor: "It was fun." Visitor: "They're so energetic now, you wouldn't think they were abandoned. They won't be lonely with two of them." Sometimes they even receive gifts like this. Zookeeper: "People send gifts because they tell them to keep trying, even though their lives are different from Punch's." They now receive fruit and fan letters from all over the country. Finally, we asked zookeeper Kumamoto about his feelings towards Monkichi and Monji. Zookeeper: "They're close by, so they get to eat directly and are treated differently than the monkeys in the monkey enclosure, so I think this was the right decision. All I can do now is hope the brothers get along well."