Monkey Haven has recently welcomed two critically endangered Yellow-breasted Capuchins to their new ‘forever home’ at the sanctuary.
Dennis and Juan are brothers who were born at Edinburgh Zoo as part of the European Endangered Species Programme. In recent years their family had fallen apart so the Island’s award-winning Primate rescue centre was asked to rehome them.
Yellow-breasted Capuchins are native to the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. Hunting and habitat loss has led to the population dropping by 80% over the past 50 years – and there are less than 3,000 left in the wild. In the 1980s the Brazilian government got involved with the European Endangered Species Programme to ensure that there was a genetically healthy backup population bred in captivity. So although Dennis and Juan are living at Monkey Haven, they will always belong to Brazil.
These two latest residents have settled into their new home really well and visitors can meet Dennis, Juan and many others rescued primates, meerkats, reptiles and birds of prey at the daily keeper talks and animal feeds – so do swing by and say hello!
Find the Monkey Haven at Staplers Road, Newport, PO30 2NB. Visit the website at www.monkeyhaven.org