“Punch, meet Rafa”: Orphaned baby koala melts hearts with his stuffed toy

A baby koala named Rafa has melted hearts online after a video showed him cuddling a stuffed toy while being weighed during rehabilitation.

The clip, shared by the wildlife conservation group IFAW (@ifawglobal) on TikTok, shows the small joey perched on a scale while hugging a plush monkey.

“Punch isn’t the only one who relies on stuffed animals for comfort and safety,” the overlaid text reads, referencing Punch, the Japanese macaque who previously went viral for clinging to a stuffed orangutan toy after being abandoned by his mother.

The video’s caption explains that stuffed animals are sometimes used in rehabilitation centers to mimic a koala mother for orphaned joeys.

In Rafa’s case, the plush companion provides comfort during a vulnerable stage of recovery.

Footage of the joey gently gripping the toy quickly circulated online, with viewers captivated by the joey’s tiny paws wrapped around the plush.

‘Not emotionally stable enough’

One TikTok user wrote, “Punch, Rafa and their respective stuffies are cordially invited to a slumber party at my house. It’s forever…I won’t be giving them back, but they will have all the stuffies they want.”

Another joked, “I’m not emotionally stable enough for another one like Punch yet.”

“I just opened this app and now I’m crying for a koala,” a third user posted.

Another kept their reaction short and heartfelt: “I love you, Rafa.”

Koala joeys rely heavily on their mothers during early development, spending months in their mother’s pouch before gradually learning to climb and forage.

When joeys lose their mothers—often because of vehicle strikes or habitat pressures—they require extensive human-led care before they can survive independently.

According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), orphaned koalas Rafa and another joey named Kookie were rescued in New South Wales after their mothers were fatally hit by cars.

The animals were treated and rehabilitated at the Friends of the Koala hospital before gradually preparing for life in the wild.

‘Remarkable’

“Every koala that’s released back into the wild gives us hope for the future of the species,” IFAW Wildlife Campaign Manager Josey Sharrad said in a press statement about the rehabilitation efforts.

“To be able to watch these koalas grow from joeys weighing no more than 330 grams to taking their first jumps in a wild environment is remarkable.”

The adorable clip also drew comparisons to Punch the monkey, also known as Panchi-kin, who was abandoned by his mother at birth and kept a plush toy as a comfort object during his reintroduction to the troop.

Setting an Example

The moment became so beloved that other zoos began experimenting with plush toys as enrichment for primates.

The Phoenix Zoo later gave a siamang named Bodie an orangutan plush toy as part of its behavioral enrichment program, designed to stimulate natural behaviors and encourage exploration.

While Rafa’s toy serves a different purpose—helping recreate the sense of security provided by a mother—viewers online still saw echoes of Punch’s story in the tiny koala’s embrace.

The video has since become another reminder of the gentle care that wildlife rehabilitation teams provide behind the scenes—sometimes with the help of something as simple as a stuffed toy.

Newsweek has reached out to the International Fund for Animal Welfare for comment via email.

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