Explained: Japan's monkey sensation Punch gets thousands of birthday messages as he turns 1 on Sunday

Punch is an orphaned monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden marking his first birthday

macaque

A type of monkey species; newborns need strong gripping ability to survive

plushie

A stuffed toy, in this case shaped like an orangutan, given to Punch for comfort and grip development

#HangInTherePunch

A social media hashtag fans used to cheer on Punch during his early struggles