A rare family of Roloway monkeys arrive at the zoo

We welcome 'rare' monkeys for the first time in 50 years as conservationists race to prevent their extinction.

A family of rare Roloway monkeys, one of the world’s most endangered species of primates, has arrived!

Our expert keepers have welcomed four “incredibly special” monkeys for the first time since 1974. They’ll be a key part of an international conservation breeding programme that’s working to safeguard the species.

Once found in the lush forests of West Africa, Roloway monkeys have been propelled to the very brink of extinction in the last 30 years. Habitat loss, driven by deforestation and agricultural expansion in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, along with poaching for their fur and meat, has seen them almost disappear altogether.

As a result, only a few hundred remain on the planet. The world’s authority on the state of nature, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has listed the species as Critically Endangered.

The monkeys are now inside the top 20 of the world’s most endangered primates and our conservationists say they will do “everything possible” to ensure the species survives for future generations.

“In the last few decades alone, Roloway monkeys have experienced a devastating crash in numbers, losing around 90% of its population. Because of the rapid rate at which they’ve disappeared, they’re also rarely found in conservation zoos. In total there are just eight individuals being cared for in only two zoos in the UK – including the four here in Chester – so they really are incredibly special. Mike Jordan Director of Animal and Plants.

“With these charismatic monkeys now facing imminent extinction in the wild, it will be the role of conservation zoos like ours to do everything possible to help them to recover. We’re hopeful that, with the skills and expertise of primatologists here in Chester, this family unit will continue to grow and play a vital role in their continued survival on the planet.”

Roloway monkeys are striking looking primates with a dark body, white chest and distinctive white ruffs around their faces. In Ghana, they’re called “Efiai aighéhi” which translates to “the monkey with a white beard”.