Fans Drew Punch the Monkey All Summer...Then a Monkey Drew Back 🎨

Punch monkey fans spent the summer drawing him - and on July 14 at Ichikawa Zoo, a little monkey on Monkey Mountain lay down on the concrete and started "drawing" back. It was 34°C (feels like 35). The sprinklers came on, the troop squeezed into the shade, and Punch went to his usual hiding spot. Nearby, a different little monkey lay flat on the cool concrete... and its finger started moving in little circles. Was it drawing? Or just playing? Here's what science can tell us - plus the room full of fan art that people made for Punch. 0:00 The Little Artist 0:10 July 14: A Hot Day 1:30 Punch 2:13 The Little Ones 3:33 The Little Artist 4:39 What Science Says 5:09 Do Monkeys Make Art? 6:02 Everyone Draws Punch 7:37 And the Artist? The science in this video: Japanese macaques have thick fur for snowy winters, so summer heat is the hard part. Resting in the shade makes less body heat, and water on fur cools them as it dries. Shaded concrete is cooler than a monkey's body. Lying belly-down lets heat flow out. Monkeys have fingerprints like ours. Young primates touch and trace everything - it's how a growing brain learns shapes and textures. In the 1950s, zoologist Desmond Morris gave paint to a chimp named Congo, who made around 400 drawings and paintings. In 1953 on Koshima Island, Japan, a young macaque started washing sweet potatoes in water. Others copied her, and soon most of her troop did it. The little monkey that "drew" is not Punch. We don't know its name. Footage filmed by fans at Ichikawa City Zoo in summer 2026. We love this little guy and deeply respect the keepers at Ichikawa City Zoo, a small local zoo doing its best for him every day. If this little artist had a name, what would you call it? Tell us in the comments. #PunchMonkey #IchikawaZoo #BabyMonkey #monkeys #animals