Monkey Forest amazed at young-at-heart 31-year-old Endangered Monkey

A female monkey nicknamed ‘The Old Girl’ at Trentham Monkey Forest has reached 31 years of age – the equivalent of being over 100 years old in human years. She is now one of the oldest monkeys in the history of the attraction and the team at Monkey Forest remain hopeful that ‘The Old Girl’ will continue to eclipse this record due to her young at heart nature.

Park Director Matt Lovatt says

“It’s great to see one of our monkeys live to the ripe old age of 31 and still be socially active in her group. She is aging like a fine wine and when she is around, we love to point her out to our visitors.

Having so many veteran monkeys at Trentham is a testament to the quality of life they experience and the excellent job the team do to care for these wild monkeys. Interestingly, the ‘Old Girl’ was born in our French park and was relocated with her social group to Trentham in 2005, when we opened’’

Unfortunately, today, Barbary macaques are an endangered species. The population has decreased by more than 50% in the last 30 years. There are fewer than 8000 wild Barbary macaques left.

Monkey Forest is strongly committed to the protection of the species by:

• Raising public awareness for the need to protect this endangered species by giving people the opportunity to observe the Barbary macaques in a setting very similar to their natural habitat
• Developing educational information to help engage our visitors
• Working with organisations to help protect wild Barbary macaques

The average life expectancy of a Barbary macaque at Trentham Monkey Forest is 23.

This life expectancy is higher than it would be in the wild due to the monkeys having optimal living conditions (e.g., no predators, food provided).

 The ‘Old Girl’, also known as ‘027’ was born in 1990 and has two sons and two daughters in the troop. Her offspring also went on to have babies and has two granddaughters. Who knows, she might even become a great grandmother next birthing season.

The guides at the park love to tell visitors about the ‘Old Girl’ and often point her out if she is about, so feel free to ask on your next visit!

Wanting to spot an old monkey? Here’s a few ways you can tell that a monkey is of old age:

• Curved back
• Frail
• Slow moving
• Hard of hearing
• Worn or missing teeth
• Needs lots of rest
• Older females tend to have black fur around their face like a beard

Editors’ Notes:

• Images: Available as jpeg files - please request if required. A whole library of photos and media pack exists for Monkey Forest, please contact  marketing@monkey-forest.com with your requirements.

• Monkey Forest Background: Based on the de Turckheim family’s hugely successful European parks, Trentham Monkey opened in 2005 and provides guests with a unique insight into a highly endangered species. The animals live freely in a setting similar to their natural habitat in Morocco. Visitors to Trentham can observe them at very close quarters. Find out more: www.monkey-forest.com.

• About Trentham Estate: Trentham Monkey Forest is situated on the 750 acre Trentham Estate where there is an abundance of activities for all the family from lovely Italian Gardens, boutique shops and stunning lake to treetop adventures at Aerial Extreme.

Tags: