Meet the Woolly Monkeys

The resident woolly monkeys have all been born at the Monkey Sanctuary in Looe and are the descendents of pets rescued in the sixties and seventies. A non-breeding programme was implemented in 2000, when it became apparent that the woollies could not be returned to the wild.

Nicky

The oldest member of the colony is easily recognisable by his ginger forehead. Despite his age, Nicky is still a physically powerful member of the woolly monkey colony. Socially, he is also extremely popular with all the other members and has friends all around him. He is often found in room 3, which is his favourite place.

Max

As a huge and silvery male you may spot Max by his size and big square head. Max is a responsible adult male and may demonstrate at you as you wander around – please don’t laugh at him or look him in the eye as he may take this as a threat. He is Nicky’s younger brother.

Ivor

Ivor is a proud and strong willed character. In comparison to Max or Pablo he is fairly stocky, but he is still one of the most powerful monkeys here. He keeps a close eye on everything going on around the territory and may join Max for some loud demonstrations.

Xingu

Xingu easily recognisable as he is very dark and stocky, with a big belly. We have to watch out for how much he is eating. However, his favourite thing is to have a juicy red apple at hand, so we try to make him work a bit harder for his food. He is often with Max and is Ivor’s older brother.

Maya

"Oooh look! It's me!"

I am the only female in the woolly monkey colony, and I am popular and respected by all apart from young Oliver, who sometimes likes to chase me. I am often far out in the trees enclosure foraging for delicious wild extras such as slugs and spiders. I love to spend time with Nicky.

Pablo

Pablo is slim but very muscular and powerful. He is a mature and socially responsible young adult who is magnificent to look at and fearless enough to confront any male who may challenge his prowess. Pablo loves to climb the trees and make full use of his powerful prehensile tail and he often does the most amazing demonstrations of strength and agility.

Caju

Caju is a sub-adult but is growing fast and can be mistaken for an adult male. He is Oli’s brother and the two are often together but Caju also spends lots of time watching the other adult males and forming strong relationships with them.

Oli

Oli is the youngest member of the colony, but is soon to overtake Maya in the size stakes. He is growing daily - canines and all. He still likes to play but is spending much more time hanging out with the big boys learning all the essential woolly monkey skills. He is often out in the trees enclosure.

Meet the capuchin monkeys

Our resident capuchin monkeys have all been rescued from the UK, where it is still legal to breed, buy, sell and keep them as pets. We continue to campaign against the UK pet trade, but sadly believe there are between 1500 and 3000 monkeys currently kept in the UK.

Frosty

Frosty was the first non-woolly monkey to arrive here in 2001. 7 years on he is the king of the black-capped capuchin group, surrounded by adoring females at all times. The most remarkable thing about Frosty is his size- when he arrived he was overweight and unfit. Now, although still huge, Frosty is strong, powerful and healthy.

Peppy

Peppy is an extremely intelligent weeper capuchin who arrived in 2002 after 7 years on his own in a garden shed. He was extremely under-stimulated, and, like all the ex-pets, showed neurotic behaviours. Since arriving here he has flourished with interesting territory, the right diet, but, most importantly, company of monkeys of his own kind.

Chanel
Chanel is a young female capuchin who arrived in 2003. Like most monkeys sold into the primate pet trade Chanel was taken from her real mother as a tiny baby. As a result of this she has developed lots of abnormal behaviours and can find humans stressful. Despite this, she does know how to be a real monkey and she lives with Peppy and Mr Monkey.

Tanya

Tanya is probably the oldest capuchin here – she could be 30 years old. She is completely uninterested in humans unless they have something tasty for her, and has a calm and busy life with her monkey friends. She loves to groom, sunbathe and forage in her favourite enclosures. She is often with Jackie and Frosty.

Mickey
Mickey is a tiny blond black-capped capuchin. Her small size is due to bone deficiency caused by an insufficient diet when she was younger. She is a very social monkey who is also very interested in humans if they visit. She did live as a pet with Tanya and Jackie but now flourishes with more opportunities socially and environmentally.

Jackie
Jackie arrived with Tanya and Mickey after over 10 years in a converted garage. Her ‘owner’ actually thought she was a boy for all the years she lived with him, but we quickly discovered she is most definitely a girl- given her very sexy reaction towards Frosty! She is the most dominant female in the black-capped group and spends almost all her time with Frosty.

Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is an affable, cheerful and friendly black-capped capuchin who arrived in 2005. As a young male capuchin life can be difficult but Charlie Brown has made lots of friends in his time here and loves to play. He is growing incredibly strong and powerful thanks to a good diet and lots of space to play and forage in.

Mister Monkey
After 5 years on his own in a converted aviary Mr Monkey arrived in summer 2007 and has been having a very exciting time. He is now mainly living with Peppy and Chanel and they are teaching him lots of things - mainly monkey manners! His physical skills are amazing and he uses his tail more like a woolly monkey than a capuchin.

Joey
Joey was taken from the wild as a tiny baby and spent the next 9 years living on his own in a tiny cage in London. He had never been outside or seen another monkey since he was 3 months old. Because he was given an inappropriate diet and denied any sunshine, his bones never formed properly. He suffers from a number of physical problems, including a curved spine, jaw and teeth problems, and displaced hips. Despite his physical and social problems Joey is learning fast and his lust for life is a joy to watch.

Boo Boo
Boo Boo arrived in spring 2008. She is a young black-capped capuchin who has been living as a pet in Nottinghamshire for some years by herself. Her ‘owner’ thought she was a boy for all those years. Boo Boo is healthy and pretty and already making eyes with the other black-cap monkeys – particularly the boys!

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