Monkey World is home to over 250 monkeys, apes and prosimians. The following are all the species of monkey that we currently care for at the park:


(Cebus apella)

We have over 60 capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) at the park, living in 5 separate groups, led by a dominant male. Most came from a bio-medical laboratory in Chile in 2008 and some were rescued from the British and European pet trade.

Common Marmosets

(Callithrix jacchus)

We now have over 30 common marmosets who have been rescued from the British pet trade.  In most instances the marmosets have been kept in small cages, indoors, in solitary confinement and fed a bad diet.  Marmosets require indoor/outdoor facilities, companionship of their own kind and a specialised diet.  As a result most arrive with nutritional bone disease, broken limbs and/or poor social skills.

Geoffroy’s Marmosets

(Callithrix geoffroyi)

We have 4 Geoffroy’s marmosets at Monkey World, named Fred, Frank, Luna & Freya. All four were bred by animal dealers and sold in the British pet trade. Fred was confiscated by Bridgend Police and now lives with Freya, who was found running loose in East London. Frank’s owner wanted a more natural life for him & he now lives with common marmoset, Douglas. Luna was rescued from a bird cage in a Birmingham flat and now lives with common marmoset, Ceasar.

Cotton-Top Tamarins

(Saguinus oedipus)

We have 2 cotton-top tamarins, Uncas & Mo. Uncas, the male cotton-top tamarin, was confiscated from the UK pet trade as his owner did not have a licence to confirm that he was captive bred.  Prior to his seizure, Uncas had been sold from owner to owner and was living in a small bird cage.He lives with a female, Mo, who came from a UK safari park after her mate had died, leaving her alone. The pair get on very well.

Patas Monkey

(Erythrocebus patas)

Mica (pronounced “Meetza”) is a female patas monkey. She arrived at the park on 01/09/11 and we estimate that she was born during 1992. She was smuggled from the wild for the illegal pet trade in Slovenia and ended up living with a family for 18-19 years.

Woolly Monkeys

(Lagothrix ssp.)

We have 27 woolly monkeys who live in 4 different groups at the park, run by the dominant males Levar, Chippy, Enzo and Paulo. Many of the woolly monkeys were born here at Monkey World but sadly they generally do not do well in captivity and  Monkey World is the last place with healthy, breeding woolly monkeys.

Spider Monkeys

We have 3 spider monkeys.  The older male, Hickory, was born in 1992, the female, Pumpkin, was born in 1999 and male Flint was born in 1998. They were all born at a British zoo but their mother’s did not care for the babies. The monkeys were given to keepers to be hand-reared and kept privately but in 2012 they were unable to keep them anymore and asked Monkey World to re-home them.

Saki Monkeys

(Pithecia pithecia)

We have 2 white-faced saki monkeys, Desmond, and his mate Chloe.  Chloe arrived at the park on 13/04/16 from a zoo in France and is the oldest saki monkey in Europe.  Desmond arrived on 25/07/18 from Shaldon Wildlife Park.  The 2 saki monkeys have come to Monkey World for their “retirement”.

Squirrel Monkeys

(Saimiri sciureus)

We have five squirrel monkeys at the park. Two males and a female were confiscated during following a police raid on a drug dealers house.  They were being kept inside in a filthy utility room and the younger male had sustained an eye injury leaving him blind in an eye.  The female was found emaciated.  Since being at Monkey World all three have received medical care and are now fit and healthy. All but one of the squirrel monkeys were confiscated from the British pet trade.  The other female came to Monkey World after she was kicked out of her family group at a zoo.  They all love catching insects in their outside enclosure.

Stump-Tailed Macaques

(Macaca arctoides)

We have eight stump-tailed macaques at the park. Sammy came to us from a British laboratory in 2000 and had been kept in a small individual indoor cage and was used in asthma research.  Charley, Kelly, Norine and Sylvie came to us from another British laboratory in 2010 and had never been outside but had lived in small social groups whilst being used in reproductive (endometriosis) studies.  Floh arrived from a dog and cat rescue centre in Germany where she lived for many years with a male companion.  When he passed away Monkey World stepped in to provide a home for her with the companionship of other stump-tailed macaques.  Freddie and Toto came to us from a Belgian rescue centre in 2016.  The stump-tails now enjoy their large indoor play area and foraging in their natural outdoor enclosure.

Unknown Marmosets

Brass and Evi arrived at Monkey World on 21/02/13 with two female common marmosets that had been rescued from a small cage in a pub.  Their appearance is unlike anything we have seen at the park and despite consultation with marmoset and tamarin specialists their species is unidentifiable.  It is most likely they are mixed species’ hybrids.  They are a confident and active duo who love sunbathing in their outside enclosure.

Red-bellied Guenons

(Cercopithecus erythrogaster)

Benny and Nia are red-bellied guenons that were hunted and taken from the wild in Benin.  They were smuggled out of Accra in Ghana on a passenger flight into Lebanon.  At Beirut airport the pair were confiscated and cared for by Animals Lebanon until Benny and Nia came to Monkey World.  They arrived on 16/05/18 and we estimate they were born in 2016.  The pair have been allowed to have two babies, Biff and Nala, so they become a stable family group.  Biff was born on 25/03/19, and Nala in July 2020.

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