Prepare for an overload of cuteness! Four baby Barbary macaques have been born at Trentham Monkey Forest, high up in the treetops as they would be in the wild, the park is excited to share.
Conservationists at the park say having a successful baby season is a “small but important win for a highly endangered species”, as over 50% of wild Barbary macaque populations have declined over 40 years. It is now thought that fewer than 8,000 Barbary macaques are thought to remain in the wild.
The Staffordshire woodland is home to 140 free roaming Barbary macaque monkeys, who’s natural behaviours are preserved due to the environment of which they live. The primates go about their days living remarkably similar lives to that of wild Barbary macaques in Morocco and Algeria, as the 3 social groups thrive within the 60-acre forest all-year-round.
The park is never 100% sure whether a female could be pregnant and for the past few months, the Monkey Forest team has been observing a few monkeys from afar to see who a potential monkey mum might be.
Barbary macaques are strictly seasonal maters, mating in the winter with a gestation period of around 5.5 months. The park lets nature take its course and eagerly anticipate new arrivals during the warmer parts of the year.
During late spring and early summertime, expecting female monkeys will head to their sleeping areas of the woodland and could at any time, emerge with a clinging bundle of joy, the following day.
This is usually a lovely surprise for the monkey team who usually spot a new arrival on its first ever morning, when they enter the woodland to feed the groups their breakfast. Lucky visitors to the woodland might even spot a new-born that is just hours old, on the same day we confirm a birth, if they happen to enter the park on the same day as a birth.
Head Guide Anna Smith who has been looking over the primates in Staffordshire since the park opened in 2005 said:
“It’s hard to describe how amazing baby season is. The Barbary macaque is a species that experiences challenging times in the wild. Being victims of the illegal pet trade, suffering habitat loss and experiencing wildfires has had a profound impact on their wild populations.
Welcoming between 6-10 babies to the forest, who will go on to live remarkably similar days to their wild counterparts gives this species in jeopardy a powerful lifeline and is a small yet important victory for them.
As we welcome 4 fresh bundles of joy to the woodland, we cannot wait to see who’s next to join the Monkey Forest family, with more babies expected to arrive soon.”
Visitors from across the UK travel to come and see the monkeys living remarkably similar lives to the wild in Staffordshire and to see their natural behaviours up-close, from 2 metres away.
The conservation project started in 2005 and has welcomed over 100 baby monkeys since. As 50% of wild Barbary macaque populations are said to have decreased in the last 40 years, the Monkey Forest team are “over the moon” with yet another small but important win for the endangered species, as fewer than 8,000 remain in the wild.
Trentham Monkey Forest works closely with organisations that help protect the wild Barbary macaques in Morocco and Algeria as well as other primates that are facing threats in the wild. Monkey Forest also educates visitors and raises awareness of the endangered status of the primate.
If you’d like to visit the baby monkeys, you can book a trip to see them at www.monkey-forest.com.