The Monkey Sanctuary welcomes a special new arrival!
19 October 2014
The wonder of new life never fails to inspire, sometimes even when it isn’t planned! Staff at The Monkey Sanctuary welcomed a new arrival yesterday, when woolly monkey Maya delivered a healthy baby in the early hours of the morning.
Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and has a non-breeding policy, for ethical and practical reasons. Most of the resident monkeys have been rescued from the UK pet trade and, due to the trauma they have suffered, would struggle to care for their own babies. The charity also gets many requests to take unwanted monkeys, so invest much of their resources into caring for rescued monkeys, campaigning for primates and preserving their remaining habitats, rather than captive breeding. Methods of contraception are chosen to minimise health risks to the monkeys and to limit any social disruption. However, as in humans, contraceptive methods are not 100% reliable!
Experienced keepers realised that Maya was pregnant several months ago, but were unsure of what the outcome might be, partly due to the fact that Maya is not a young monkey at 22 years old and has never had a baby before. Happily though, she remained fit and healthy throughout her pregnancy and delivered her baby perfectly- showing much skill by cradling the baby as it emerged and cleaning up beautifully. She was so relaxed about it all that she allowed keepers to get close enough to film the new born infant and there are plans to share a short video of this rare moment.
Keeper Kim Archer was lucky enough to witness the birth: “I can’t believe that I have had the luck to see Maya have her
baby, there are only a handful of people who have seen a woolly monkey born- what a privilege!”
Her colleague Anthony Williams was also there: “Seeing Maya be so tender with her baby was lovely, but a stark reminder of the cruelty that most of the rescued monkeys at the Sanctuary have suffered; taken from their mothers as tiny infants to be sold into the pet trade. It has to stop.”
Woolly monkeys are native to the rainforests of South America and live in complex social groups, ranging from 10 to 45 individuals. There are 5 different species of woolly monkey, but their long-term survival is seriously threatened due to deforestation of their habitat, hunting for bush-meat and the primate pet trade. The work of organisations like Wild Futures is vital to protect woolly monkeys and primates worldwide.
To donate to their work please visit www.wildfutures.org/get-involved/make-a-donation
<ENDS>
Notes to Editors:
About Wild Futures:
Wild Futures (Charity reg. No. 1102532) is an educational and environmental charity promoting the welfare and conservation of primates, and working to end the abuse of primates in captivity. Its flagship project, The Monkey Sanctuary, in Cornwall, is home to victims of the primate pet trade. The Monkey Sanctuary is the only Sanctuary in Europe accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) and is a founder and board member of EARS (European Alliance of Rescue Centres and Sanctuaries). Drawing on nearly 50 years of primate expertise, Wild Futures acts as an advisory body to sanctuaries and conservation organisations in the UK and overseas and advises DEFRA on UK animal welfare legislation.
Monkey Sanctuary opening times:
The Monkey Sanctuary is open from 1st April to 2nd November 2014, every day except Fridays. Open from 11am-4.30pm, last admissions 4pm. Tickets are available at a 10% discount online and at Wild Futures’ Mount Edgcumbe shop.
Telephone: 0844 272 1271
Web: www.monkeysanctuary.org
For further information or pictures, contact:
Claire Turnbull [email protected]
Tel; 0844 272 1271
www.wildfutures.org