New baby macaques are causing great excitement at the Trentham Monkey Forest.
Staff and visitors to the forest have been watching closely as the three new arrivals start to take their first steps around the forest in Stoke-on-Trent.
The Barbary macaques are an endangered species, so new babies are always the subject of great excitement at the facility. More babies are expected to be born in the next few months.
The babies are similar to the young Toque macaque called Gremlin from Sri Lanka, who has been featured on BBC1’s recent Planet Earth Live Series.
The first arrival at Trentham was born in April. A first time mum then gave birth to the forest’s second baby; she was also one of Trentham’s first babies herself.
The forest’s first twins were born in May but unfortunately one died. Twins are very rare in the species and staff knew the possibility of survival was low. However, the other twin, a girl, is doing well.
A spokesperson for the forest said: “Visitors to the forest should be able to glimpse the mothers and their babies who hold on to their mothers’ tummies where they keep warm and feed.
“They start to take their first tentative steps at around two weeks old. It is not possible to tell who the fathers are as female Barbary macaques are highly promiscuous in the mating season, however the males seek out the babies to hold and look after – an unusual trait in primates.”
Monkey Forest has 140 macaques roaming free in the grounds.