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last mo.

Chester Zoo Roloway Monkey Gives Birth Months After Foot-Saving Surgery

The healthy arrival bolsters efforts to conserve a critically endangered species with few breeding females in Europe.

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Collage of three images: mona monkeys in their natural habitat, a close-up of a baby mona monkey, and a mona monkey receiving medical care.
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Overview

  • Masaya, a 15-year-old roloway monkey, delivered a daughter named Lagertha a few weeks ago and is parenting successfully.
  • Last summer, surgeons removed a golf-ball-sized mass from Masaya’s foot in a complex procedure that preserved all but one toe.
  • Zoo veterinarians collaborated with University of Liverpool specialists to adapt techniques for a surgery not previously recorded in roloway monkeys.
  • After a CT scan at the University of Liverpool’s Small Animal Teaching Hospital, a vet called the operation the last chance to save the foot before amputation, following recurring issues likely due to an abscess.
  • Fewer than 2,000 roloway monkeys remain in the wild in Ghana and Ivory Coast, and Chester Zoo is one of only two UK institutions housing the species.