Adorable double act monkeying around at new Lotherton home this Easter

A pair of cheeky monkeys became the newest additions to a spectacular Leeds wildlife attraction this week.
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Adorable double act Coco and Maisey joined the family at Lotherton’s Wildlife World where they have been settling in and getting ready to meet visitors over Easter.

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The pair of Goeldi’s monkeys are a breed of small, new world primate which in the wild are found throughout the spectacular Amazonian rainforests of South America.

An international cooperative breeding programme is underway with the aims of ensuring the species survives. Picture: James Hardisty.An international cooperative breeding programme is underway with the aims of ensuring the species survives. Picture: James Hardisty.
An international cooperative breeding programme is underway with the aims of ensuring the species survives. Picture: James Hardisty.
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Living mostly trees around five to 10 metres above ground, their favourite foods include fruit, insects, nectar, small lizards and fungi which they will eagerly search for on the forest floor amongst dense shrubbery and bamboo.

Usually living in family groups, the monkeys communicate with each other using a complex combination of scent marking, vocalisations, facial expressions and body language.

With a dark fur coat to camouflage them and the ability to jump a distance of up to four metres, Goeldi’s monkeys are perfectly adapted to a life leaping branch to branch, using their long tails to help them balance.

Unfortunately, deforestation, fragmentation and demand from the pet trade, has left their numbers in the wild declining, with the species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable.

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An international cooperative breeding programme is underway with the aims of ensuring the species survives.

Dani Ragheb, Lotherton’s new head keeper, said: “We’re thrilled to see Coco and Maisey joining the Lotherton family and to be playing our part in international efforts to secure the future of this remarkable and vulnerable species.

“They’ve both settled in well and have been very curious and eager to explore their new surroundings. They’re also very expressive animals. Communicating with one another a lot so we can’t wait for visitors to see them playing and interacting while also learning more about them and our planet.”

Coco and Maisey are the newest additions to a spectacular array of animals from around the world at Lotherton.

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Other vulnerable species supported by Wildlife World include Chilean flamingos, porcupines, critically endangered Visayan warty pigs and Arthur, the attraction’s resident tapir.

As well as public visits, school groups are welcome and can book a guided zoo tour and a curriculum-linked workshop with the site’s education team.

These cover a range of topics, such as rainforests and classification, and cater for a variety of age ranges.

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