Baby boom as Monkey Forest marks its 18th anniversary

One of Britain’s more unusual visitor attractions, offering close encounters with free-roaming monkeys, has ‘come of age’.

Tucked away amidst 60 acres of woodland and meadows on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham Monkey Forest marked its 18th anniversary in July, a major milestone for the conservation project.

Visitors can stroll along the woodland path to see 140 Barbary macaques living as naturally as possible in their forest home as they would in their native Algeria and Morocco.

Over the last 18 years the park has welcomed thousands of visitors, but also had an extremely successful breeding programme, welcoming over 170 baby Barbary macaques into the world - with nine born this summer alone.

One of its most popular annual treats for visitors, summer is ‘baby season’, not only when new new-borns are first spotted, but also the time of year when last year’s juveniles really start to find their feet - providing some stunning photo opportunities.

The babies are born high up in the trees at night, but visitors get their first peek at them as a tiny bundle clinging onto its mother’s stomach, before they to take their first steps and explore the forest.

Barbary macaques are a highly endangered species, with fewer than 8,000 thought to still be roaming in the wild; and, as the UK’s largest primate enclosure, Trentham Monkey Forest works closely with nature organisations to support conservation projects that help primates currently struggling in the wild.

To celebrate its anniversary, the park has turned the clock back by sharing a collection of captivating images looking back at the primate research centre’s creation in 2005.

Team members have returned to the exact spots where the photographs were originally taken to recreate the image, showcasing the changes that have taken place over the years and highlighting the park’s growth, evolution, and commitment to conservation.

Visitors are also being urged to join in the celebrations by looking at the images, being shared across the Monkey Forest’s social media channels under the #MonkeyForest18Years hashtag.

Trentham Monkey Forest is open daily, from 10am until 5pm until 31 July, and until 6pm throughout August. Day tickets cost from £10 for adults and £8 for children (aged 3 to 14) when booked in advance,

For more details about Trentham Monkey Forest, see www.monkey-forest.com.