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The Last Show with David Cooper

Punch the Monkey's Saga and Attachment Theory

27 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

3.153 - 28.936 Dr. Cliff Redford

We're here because your heightened awareness deserves heightened entertainment. The Last Show with David Cooper. A viral video of a monkey went around a few days ago and it was absolutely heartbreaking. A little tiny monkey got beaten up by his monkey. Well, I guess not friends, maybe enemies at the time. He ran off and he hugged his little plushie on his own, ostracized from the monkey group.

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29.036 - 37.049 Dr. Cliff Redford

It was horrific. And worse still, the monkey's name is Punch and he got punched. He got punched. Yeah, by another monkey. I'm here with Dr. Cliff Redford.

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Chapter 2: What does Punch the monkey's story reveal about attachment theory?

37.089 - 42.516 Dr. Cliff Redford

It is Vet Talk. It is Pet Talk. Check out Cliff's podcast, Vet Life. Cliff, welcome to the show.

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42.977 - 64.85 David Cooper

Thank you very much. This is a fascinating story. Did they name him Punch and then he got punched? Or did they name him Punch after he got punched? Because that would be pretty nasty of the zookeepers. I would like to think he's named after the drink, not after the violent act. I think that's what it was. I think that's what it was. So Punch is a baby macaque. You can't say that on the radio.

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65.311 - 93.37 David Cooper

Baby? Sorry, infant. Macaque. Macaque? Punch is a baby macaque. Six or seven months ago, he was abandoned by his mother. and abandoned by his monkey friends. It's true. He was all by himself. He was essentially rescued by the zoo in Ichikawa, Japan, and he was bullied, and he was by himself, and

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93.35 - 113.117 David Cooper

They ended up, the zookeepers got him, because he was raised by the zookeepers for the longest time, and then eventually once he was old enough to essentially fend for himself, which isn't quite true, but like any good Karate Kid movie, he was left on his own and had to deal with these bullies. But unlike all the Karate Kid movies, there was no Mr. Miyagi.

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113.137 - 142.83 David Cooper

Instead, there was a plush little orangutan toy that you can get from Ikea, by the way. It is an Ikea toy. This episode brought to you by. By. There you go. So Punch became friends with this toy. And anytime Punch was punched or bullied, he would run to this toy and hug it and cuddle it and caress it and drag it all over the place. And it became this big viral moment.

142.81 - 167.282 David Cooper

But what is beautiful about this story is Punch has gained confidence and has learned how to work within the social hierarchy. He is now being seen standing up for himself and screaming at the monkeys that have been bullying him. And he's actually made not fake friends, but real friends now within the group. So it's this beautiful viral story.

167.362 - 188.477 David Cooper

But what I found fascinating is this sort of proves, I mean, we already knew it was true, but this showcases a theory of attachment, it's called, back that was created or back that was discovered in 1950s. So back in the 1950s, animal behaviorists, and humans are considered animals as well,

188.457 - 200.554 David Cooper

believed in what they called the behaviorist theory, that we become attached to a parenting figure, one that gives us the necessities of life. For me, it's my therapist.

200.634 - 201.956 Dr. Cliff Redford

For most people, it's their parents.

Chapter 3: How did Punch the monkey cope with bullying in the zoo?

611.932 - 641.689 David Cooper

Sunday, she went to work and she left work early and came home complaining that she just didn't feel well. She's just no energy, feverish, just blah. Right. Well, Monday, she doesn't wake up. Her husband finds her unconscious, essentially in her room. Her feet are ice cold. Her lips are blue. She's not breathing well. She ends up waking up in the hospital, something like...

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641.669 - 678.425 David Cooper

Seven weeks later, she went into a coma. She had six episodes of cardiac arrest. So arguably she died six times. Her heart stopped six times during this coma. She developed pneumonia. She developed gallstones. And while she was in the coma, they had to amputate both of her legs from the knees down. Amputate both of her hands. Took out her spleen. Took out the gallstone. And.

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679.366 - 693.864 David Cooper

They think it's all because. She was licked. A tiny little scratch she had. Was licked by her dog. And the infection. Quickly developed sepsis. Meaning the body's immune system.

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Chapter 4: What groundbreaking study changed our understanding of attachment in animals?

693.964 - 724.309 David Cooper

To whatever. Foreign invader comes in. Um. The body's immune system becomes severely overreactive. And the white blood cells are produced at massive amounts. All these different endotoxins are produced. And the body starts attacking itself as a foreign object. It's like, I'm going to get in a bar fight and I just start swinging haymakers. And if I hit my girlfriend accidentally...

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724.289 - 752.389 David Cooper

That's what ends up happening. I'm not encouraging this, of course. That is sort of what happens in these sepsis cases. And it causes necrosis of tissue, especially in the periphery, like the feet and the hands. She spent 32 weeks in the hospital. But this woman is so... strong and independent, she's already saying, I want to get back to work.

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752.97 - 768.4 David Cooper

They've got a GoFundMe page where they're raising money for prosthetics. And she's like, I just spent 32 weeks asleep or sitting in a bed I can't do this anymore. I want to get outside. I want to enjoy life. I want to play with my dog.

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770.504 - 785.312 Dr. Cliff Redford

Sepsis, though, it's like no joke. And when a pet breaks skin and gets saliva or even with cats and dogs, the tip of their nails and their paws can be very filthy as well. You got to be careful if that wound starts getting funky, like get it seen.

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785.292 - 802.997 David Cooper

Yeah, like if you get bit by a cat and the bite punctures the skin, I've been bitten by cats and I go to the doctor right away and I say, give me some clavulanic acid and amoxicillin. It's called clavamox or claviseptin. It's a very powerful antibiotic.

802.977 - 829.643 David Cooper

Cats, more so than dogs, but both cats and dogs have a bacteria in their mouths called Pasturella Maltosida or Maltosida, depending on how you say it. And it's like chemical warfare. Now, the problem with cat bites is they don't generally bleed that much. They bite you and their teeth are so tiny and sharp that it sort of deposits, deposits, deposits, deposits, deposits.

829.623 - 848.626 David Cooper

deposits bacteria under the skin, the skin seals up very, very quickly. You're like, oh, I'm fine. And then you develop this toxic line of like blue vessels running up your arm, let's say. And back in the day of when no antibiotics existed, I mean, a cat bite would kill you. You'd certainly have to amputate a limb.

849.287 - 875.207 David Cooper

There's another story of a woman named June Baxter, retired legal secretary, 83 years old, simple cut on her leg again. The next day, her daughter comes over with their dog. The dog licks the wound. The following day, the woman is unwell, and she ended up dying nine days later, and they did culture Pastorella maltosida from this wound. Wow.

875.227 - 888.86 David Cooper

Now, there is only one animal out there that has a dirtier mouth than cats and dogs. Me. Me. Humans. Yeah, absolutely. So don't go licking wounds. And if you get bit by somebody, that's a serious threat too.

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