Monkey Sanctuary | Education Zone | Educational Resources

Monkey Sanctuary Trust is a unique environmental charity dedicated to:

Woolly monkey welfare, including the welfare, conservation and survival of primates, particularly woolly monkeys and capuchin monkeys.
Capuchin monkey welfare, including Working to end the primate and monkey trade and abuse of primates and monkeys in captivity.
Conserving natural habitats of woolly and capuchin monkeys through education and sustainable living.
monkey rescue, including promoting the rehabilitation of rescued woolly and capuchin monkeys and primates to natural habitats.

Woolly Monkey - what is it?

The woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha) is one of the largest and most beautiful of the South American primates. They live in the middle and upper Amazon basin to the west of the rivers Negro and Tapajos. There are four recognised sub-species of woolly monkey. These are mountain or long-haired woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lugens), the brown woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha poepiggii), the grey woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha cana) and the brown-headed woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lagothricha).

Woolly monkeys are arboreal (meaning tree-dwelling), spending most of their time high in the canopy of the trees and rarely venturing to the forest floor.

Woolly monkeys have evolved in a way which enables them to exploit this tree-top niche, to travel easily along narrow limbs, to reach nuts, seedpods and fruits at the end of branches, to leap between gaps safely and even to sleep securely 150 feet above the ground.

Capuchin Monkey - what is it?

Capuchins were named after capuchin monks because the dark fur that forms a cap on their heads and extends down in 'side-burns' resembles the cowl or headdress of the capuchin priests.

Capuchin monkeys are one of the most intelligent and adaptable of all South American primates. The first capuchins (Cebus species) appeared 16.3 million years ago in South America and, like all monkeys capuchin monkeys share about 97% of their DNA with humans. All capuchin species are neotropical, in other words capuchin monkeys are mainly found in northern and central South America. Within this range only the howler monkey is as widespread, and the black-capped capuchin or tufted capuchin has the widest distribution of any new world monkey, as capuchin monkeys are found in every South American country except Uruguay and Chile.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust is based at The Monkey Sanctuary in Looe, Cornwall, UK. The Monkey Sanctuary is home to a social colony of Woolly monkeys and a group of rescued ex-pet Capuchin monkeys. The Trust provides advice and support for primate, woolly and capuchin monkey rescue centres and sanctuaries around the world.

Each year the Monkey Sanctuary Trust educates thousands of visitors on monkey life in the wild and in captivity, on the ethics and problems of captivity for woolly monkeys, about ideas for rehabilitation as well as other animal welfare and conservation issues for woolly and capuchin monkeys.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust Home page

The Monkey Sanctuary Trust's Work

History of the Monkey Sanctuary

Contact the monkey sanctuary

Support the woolly monkeys

Adopt a woolly or capuchin Monkey

International Adoptions of capuchin monkeys

Donate to help woolly monkeys

Volunteer to help the Monkay Sanctuary

Become a woolly monkey Keeper for the Day

Jobs at the monkey sanctuary

The Monkeys - woolly capuchin

The Bats that live alongside the woolly monkeys

Woolly monkey Rehabilitation Programme

About Woolly Monkeys

About Capuchin Monkeys

Wildzone - all about capuchins and woollies

Monkey Rehabilitation Programme

Monkey Sanctuary Visits and Talks

Monkey Sanctuary - Educational Resources

Sanctuary Links

Educational Resources

Key Stage 2 Resource Pack.

Newly updated, the pack contains three sections covering a variety of areas of the curriculum.

The entire pack comprises:

Teacher Notes (PDF - 6.2Mb)
Monkey Door Hanger (PDF - 0.1Mb)
Monkey Mask Template (PDF - 0.6Mb)
Monkey Mobile and Finger Puppet (PDF - 0.1Mb)
Personal and Class Convservation Charts (PDF - 0.1Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Conservation Crazy (PDF - 0.5Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Rainforest and Us (PDF - 1.9Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Wild About Monkeys (PDF - 1.4Mb)
Download entire pack - (ZIP - 10.2Mb)

Key Stage 3 and 4 Resource Pack.

Newly updated for 2007, the pack contains three sections covering Tropical Rainforests, Monkeys in the Wild and Captivity and Fair Trade and Sustainable Development and covers a variety of areas of the curriculum.

The entire pack comprises:

Teacher Notes: Tropical Rainforests, Monkeys in the Wild and Captivity and Fair Trade and Sustainable Development (PDF - 7.0Mb)
Environment Question Cards (PDF - 0.3Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Tropical Rainforests (PDF - 2.1Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Monkeys in the Wild and Captivity (PDF - 8.2Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Fair Trade and Sustainable Development (PDF - 0.9Mb)
Student Activity Pack: Glossary (PDF - 0.1Mb)
Download entire pack - (ZIP - 18.3Mb)

This pack is available free for educational use.

Photocopies can be made for educational use.

The copyright of the pack remains the property of The Monkey Sanctuary Trust. The copyrights of some of the photographs in the pack are owned by other organisations and cannot be reproduced without prior consent of those organisations.

For more information on this pack or on any aspect of our educational work, please contact the Education Team on 01503 262 532 or education@monkeysanctuary.org

Research Students

Research is an important part of the work of a modern sanctuary. Captive studies are invaluable at many different levels of research; in the first instance they can be used as a training tool for students to learn research and data collection techniques. In addition captive studies can also be valuable preparation for field work and often supply additional data to long-term field studies.

At the Sanctuary there is availability for self-motivated research students to carry out studies to contribute towards qualifications, at any level of higher education, from undergraduate to PhD.

All studies must be non-invasive and improve our understanding of the monkeys in our care or have relevance to the general structure of The Sanctuary, for example they may fall within fundraising, sustainability or education. Your results will help us build up an extensive library of research from which we can continue to improve the monkeys’ welfare by providing them with natural and stimulating environments and raising awareness of our work.

If you would like to undertake a research project at The Monkey Sanctuary you need to make a formal application and we will assess the suitability of your project. Please read through the application form and guidelines carefully before completing the form. If you have any questions you can e-mail us prior to submitting your form. The included guidelines enable you and the sanctuary to get the most out of the time you will spend here. Please be aware that while we are keen to encourage research here, the every day duties of the keepers and the welfare of the monkeys in our care take priority.

A preliminary visit will be required before undertaking any research. Once your project is completed you are required to provide your methodology as soon as possible and a date will be set for you to provide us with a final copy.

Research Application:

Click here to view the research application form and associated guidelines.

Previous Research:

To give you an understanding of the type of research we allow at The Sanctuary, please view our list of previous research titles. We are always interested in new ideas for research projects and a proposal for a study not conducted here before would be merited more highly than the repeat of a previous project unless it is justified.

Click here to view titles of previous research studies.

Animal Care Visits

View the high standard of primate care at the Sanctuary through informative keeper talks and worksheets. Nutrition, enclosure design, enrichment and welfare are all analysed.