Mr Monkey was born into the pet trade and is a hybrid capuchin monkey – which wouldn’t naturally exist in the wild.

He was rescued by The Monkey Sanctuary when his owners emigrated to Portugal and were unable to take him with them, as Portugal unlike the UK, has banned the keeping of primates as pets.

Mr Monkey is very intelligent but has some unusual stereotypical behaviours after living an under-stimulated and deprived life as a pet. If he feels nervous or anxious in any way, he will often ‘self-grasp’. Mr Monkey also over-grooms if he has a difficult day, sometimes pulling out whole sections of hair on his toes.

Although he is still troubled by these stereotypical behaviours, he leads a very active social life and has improved in so many ways since his arrival!

He is a resilient character who is determined to overcome his past and has made many good friends who he still looks to for reassurance – and for fun! Because of the hard work he has put in over the years, he has risen up the political rankings of his social group and is a much respected member of our weeper group.