Folly Farm has taken delivery of a group of eight Barbary Macaques from the AAP Rescue Centre in Holland with the aim of raising awareness of the plight facing these primates in their native homelands of Morocco and Tunisia.
The Macaques will now spend six months in a purpose-built quarantine enclosure at Folly Farm with a viewing area for the public. They will be on full display with access to an outside enclosure from the spring.
As well as providing a safe haven for these apes, the new exhibit will serve to raise awareness of the plight of the Barbary Macaque through information boards and through keeper talks collecting donations towards AAP's Red Light Campaign to alter the conservation status of the Barbary Macaque from its current vulnerable status to endangered.
Tim Morphew, Folly Farm's zoo manager, said of the new arrivals: "Barbary Macaques are the well-known face of tourism for the Rock of Gibraltar, but many people are unaware these apes are being illegally taken for the pet trade at an unsustainable rate.
"Unless action is taken, these apes will eventually disappear from Africa altogether.
"Clever animals with hugely individual characters, these primates will be a fantastic addition to our zoo, as well as furthering our commitments to conservation and education."
Geerts Jonkeers, of the AAP Sanctuary in the Netherlands, said: "We're delighted to see this group of Macaques reach their new home at Folly Farm.
"Many of these monkeys have been kept as solitary pets, which is not good for social apes like these that need to be part of a group.
"It's fantastic that we've managed to re-home the group all together in such a wonderful enclosure and now we have more space back at the sanctuary to rescue more mistreated Macaques."
Folly Farm is open on Saturdays and Sundays only through the winter, so please check opening times before you visit. For more information on Folly Farm, its special events and the latest news, please visit http://www.folly-farm.co.uk">www.folly-farm.co.uk