Birth of rare monkey at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park are celebrating after the birth of a critically endangered species of monkey – the first of its kind in the UK.
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According to the international Zoo Database, the birth of the baby Roloway monkey is a major triumph for the European breeding programme – only three babies were born in zoos worldwide this year.

This is a major achievement for the YWP primates team who worked hard to introduce four year old Kayla and six-year-old Rafiki to each other and acclimatise them at the Park in Doncaster in February when they arrived from France and Germany respectively. These Roloway monkeys are the only the pair in the country.

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"We have been monitoring Kayla’s pregnancy very carefully ever since we noticed subtle changes in her behaviour’ said Primate Team Leader Greg Clifton.

Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park are celebrating after the birth of a critically endangered species of monkey – the first of its kind in the UK. Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park are celebrating after the birth of a critically endangered species of monkey – the first of its kind in the UK.
Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park are celebrating after the birth of a critically endangered species of monkey – the first of its kind in the UK.

"Words cannot express how excited we are to have successful birth here at the Park so soon after Kayla and Rafiki were first introduced and especially as they are both first time parents. They are doing an amazing job. The rangers have been keeping a video diary of the baby day by day and we cannot believe how quickly the youngster has developed. After just a week the baby was already climbing off his mum to explore – under her watchful eye, of course!"

Roloway monkeys are native to Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa, but are on the verge of extinction because of hunting and habitat loss.

Dr. Matt Hartley, Head of Animals added “This baby is so important for the future of the species.”