Can I still have fun at Monkey Forest as we enter the colder months?

OF COURSE, YOU CAN!

 

One of the most frequently asked questions we get asked here at the Monkey Forest is whether the experience is the same when it is cold or wet.

 

We are here to tell you that you can still have an amazing experience rain or shine! So get them wellies on and feel free to get up to some monkey business!

 

You might be thinking how or why? Surely our monkeys don’t like getting wet or cold? WRONG!  Barbary macaques can live outside at Trentham ALL YEAR ROUND!

 

Our monkeys are very well adapted to the climate that we have here in Staffordshire, so will definitely be out and about whatever the weather.

 

Barbary macaques originate from the mountainous regions of Morocco and Algeria. Here they would face extremely cold and snowy winters with temperatures dropping to -15 degrees Celsius!

 

In the winter, they have a long thick coat that  protects them from cold temperatures and the opposite side of things happens in the spring, they moult and grow a short summer coat to cope with hot temperatures.

 

Fascinatingly, in the winter, our monkeys also naturally reduce the loss of body heat through having a compact, tailless bodies!

So don’t worry as we enter the colder months. All you need to do is make sure you wrap up warm when visiting us.

PS: We have some awesome puddles sometimes and wellies are super fun for the little ones to splash about in!