Baby Season is HERE: Four Endangered Barbary Macaques Born!

We’re excited to share some very special news from the treetops here at Trentham Monkey Forest - four endangered baby Barbary macaques have officially been born!

Our team discovered the tiny new arrivals during morning feeds in the forest, with the babies clinging closely to their mums high up in the trees, exactly as they would in the wild. It’s always an incredible moment for our monkey guides when baby season begins, and this year is already off to a fantastic start.

With fewer than 8,000 Barbary macaques believed to remain in the wild across Morocco and Algeria, every birth is an important milestone for the future of this endangered species. That’s why everyone here at the forest is absolutely thrilled to welcome the newest members of our monkey family.

Home to 140 free-roaming Barbary macaques, our 60-acre woodland allows the monkeys to live remarkably natural lives. Across three social groups, they spend their days climbing, grooming, playing and raising their young in a way that closely mirrors wild Barbary macaque behaviour.

One of the most fascinating things about baby season is that we never know exactly when a new arrival is coming. Barbary macaques are seasonal breeders, mating during winter before a gestation period of around five and a half months. In late spring and early summer, females quietly retreat to their sleeping areas and can suddenly reappear with a newborn baby the very next day.

Often, our team’s first glimpse of a newborn comes early in the morning while delivering breakfast to the groups - making every discovery a genuine surprise.

Visitors can sometimes even spot babies that are only hours old during their very first day in the forest!

Park Director Matt Lovatt said:

“Baby season is an incredible time of year. The little ones are hugely popular, not just with visitors but with the monkeys themselves.

Barbary macaques are especially unique because many of the males help care for the babies too - something that’s quite rare amongst primates.

We’re thrilled baby season has begun and we’re expecting more arrivals very soon. The babies will grow up surrounded by their family groups, learning natural behaviours from day one in the incredible environment they live in here at the forest.”

Since opening in 2005, the conservation project has welcomed more than 100 baby monkeys. With wild Barbary macaque populations having declined dramatically over recent decades, each new birth represents another small but meaningful success for the species.

Alongside caring for the monkeys here in Staffordshire, the team also supports conservation organisations working directly in Morocco and Algeria to help protect wild Barbary macaques and other threatened primates.

If you’re planning a visit over the coming weeks, there’s a very good chance you’ll spot one of our newest arrivals swinging through the trees with mum close by.

You can find out more and plan your visit here at Trentham Monkey Forest - www.monkey-forest.com