Say hello to the ‘golden boys’ – new arrivals at Monkey Haven
Monkey Haven have just welcomed two critically endangered Yellow-breasted Capuchins (also known as Golden-bellied Capuchins) to their 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 the family had fallen apart so the Island’s primate rescue charity was asked to re-home them.
Monkey Haven’s founder, Don Walser, says:
“We are very fortunate to be in a position to help these lovely animals. We were only able to offer them a home once we had moved our family of White-throated capuchins into their fancy new home, which we have just built. We have now finished the refurb of the old enclosure, in time for the Dennis and Juan’s arrival on 3rd May.”
Don added:
“It takes a huge amount of planning to ensure the animals are moved to the Haven with as little stress as possible. And we’re grateful to Wightlink for providing ferry travel and also donating rope for the Capuchins to play on,”
Wightlink Commercial Director Phil Delaney said:
“We’re really pleased to be supporting the Monkey Haven with travel to bring Dennis and Juan to their new home on the Island. We hope they quickly settle into their new surroundings and enjoy playing on the old mooring rope we have donated for their enclosure.”
The 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 – 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 monkeys are mostly brown and black, but get their name from the golden yellow fur that covers their upper arms, chest and stomach. They are highly vocal and communicate with each other using barks, screams, whistles and chattering.
“We are all extremely excited, it’s going to be a very happy May at Monkey Haven! Our animal carers have ensured Dennis and Juan get a VIP welcome, with lots of treats – including their favourite live bugs!”
