Monkey Sanctuary Trust is a unique environmental charity dedicated to:

Woolly monkey welfare, including the welfare, conservation and survival of primates, particularly woolly monkeys and capuchin monkeys.
Capuchin monkey welfare, including Working to end the primate and monkey trade and abuse of primates and monkeys in captivity.
Conserving natural habitats of woolly and capuchin monkeys through education and sustainable living.
monkey rescue, including promoting the rehabilitation of rescued woolly and capuchin monkeys and primates to natural habitats.

Woolly Monkey - what is it?

The woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha) is one of the largest and most beautiful of the South American primates. They live in the middle and upper Amazon basin to the west of the rivers Negro and Tapajos. There are four recognised sub-species of woolly monkey. These are mountain or long-haired woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lugens), the brown woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha poepiggii), the grey woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha cana) and the brown-headed woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lagothricha).

Woolly monkeys are arboreal (meaning tree-dwelling), spending most of their time high in the canopy of the trees and rarely venturing to the forest floor.

Woolly monkeys have evolved in a way which enables them to exploit this tree-top niche, to travel easily along narrow limbs, to reach nuts, seedpods and fruits at the end of branches, to leap between gaps safely and even to sleep securely 150 feet above the ground.

Capuchin Monkey - what is it?

Capuchins were named after capuchin monks because the dark fur that forms a cap on their heads and extends down in 'side-burns' resembles the cowl or headdress of the capuchin priests.

Capuchin monkeys are one of the most intelligent and adaptable of all South American primates. The first capuchins (Cebus species) appeared 16.3 million years ago in South America and, like all monkeys capuchin monkeys share about 97% of their DNA with humans. All capuchin species are neotropical, in other words capuchin monkeys are mainly found in northern and central South America. Within this range only the howler monkey is as widespread, and the black-capped capuchin or tufted capuchin has the widest distribution of any new world monkey, as capuchin monkeys are found in every South American country except Uruguay and Chile.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust is based at The Monkey Sanctuary in Looe, Cornwall, UK. The Monkey Sanctuary is home to a social colony of Woolly monkeys and a group of rescued ex-pet Capuchin monkeys. The Trust provides advice and support for primate, woolly and capuchin monkey rescue centres and sanctuaries around the world.

Each year the Monkey Sanctuary Trust educates thousands of visitors on monkey life in the wild and in captivity, on the ethics and problems of captivity for woolly monkeys, about ideas for rehabilitation as well as other animal welfare and conservation issues for woolly and capuchin monkeys.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust Home page

The Monkey Sanctuary Trust's Work

History of the Monkey Sanctuary

Contact the monkey sanctuary

Support the woolly monkeys

Adopt a woolly or capuchin Monkey

International Adoptions of capuchin monkeys

Donate to help woolly monkeys

Volunteer to help the Monkay Sanctuary

Become a woolly monkey Keeper for the Day

Jobs at the monkey sanctuary

The Monkeys - woolly capuchin

The Bats that live alongside the woolly monkeys

Woolly monkey Rehabilitation Programme

About Woolly Monkeys

About Capuchin Monkeys

Wildzone - all about capuchins and woollies

Monkey Rehabilitation Programme

Monkey Sanctuary Visits and Talks

Monkey Sanctuary - Educational Resources

Sanctuary Links

WORLD CUP OFFER! Kids Go Free!

Click here for details on our special offer on entry during the World Cup tournament!

Opening Times:

11.00am - 4.30pm every Sunday - Thursday (closed Friday and Saturday)

From 28th March - 30th September 2010 (plus October half-term)

2010 prices:

Adult - 7.50

Child (under 16 years) - 3.50

Concession - 5.00

Family ticket - 20.00

Wheelchair user/limited mobility guests - Half Price

Wheelchair enablers/carers - Free

Under 5's go free!

Don't Forget! Your entry entitles you to membership of The Monkey Sanctuary for a whole year, including FREE UNLIMITED RE-ENTRY!

BUY TICKETS ONLINE HERE! Click HERE to buy your tickets online

How to find us

From Plymouth: take A38 to the Trerulefoot roundabout (near Tideford). Take first exit off roundabout (signposted Looe and Polperro). Follow road then take right turn (towards Looe and Polperro). Follow road through Hessenford and, at No Mans Land, take left turn and follow signs to Monkey Sanctuary.

From Liskeard: take A38 towards Plymouth, follow signs to Looe (B3253). Take a left turn at Twinaways Farm (signposted Monkey Sanctuary). At the end of the single track lane, continue straight over crossroads. At Bindown, turn right onto the main road after the Post Office and immediately left through No Mans Land. Follow signs for the Monkey Sanctuary.

From Looe: Leave Looe with river on your left. Take the right turn on the hill towards Torpoint and Plymouth. Pass church on left and Looe Bay and Tregoad campsites on right. At top of hill take right turn onto single track lane (signposted Monkey Sanctuary) and follow signs.

Got Sat Nav?

For those using Satellite Navigation (Sat Nav) to make their way to us, our postcode is PL13 1NZ. If your Sat Nav doesn't offer The Monkey Sanctuary as a destination, select Bay View Farm (our neighbours), and you will find our way to us. We are working on getting a consistent listing!

Click here to view a map of our location.

Schools

For school classes or other large groups, there are discounts available for advanced group bookings. Please see the Education section of this site, call 01503 262 532 or email education@monkeysanctuary.org for more information.

Wheelchair and Limited Mobility Access

We have disabled parking spaces available at the bottom of the drive - please feel free to drive down and make use of them.

Due to the natural setting of the site and the listed status of the main Sanctuary house, we regret that we are not able to provide full access to all areas of the site to visitors with limited mobility. Please call us on 01503 262 532 prior to your visit if you are concerned about access or to discuss available discounts.

PLEASE NOTE: Toilets for disabled customers are situated in the car park. We regret that we cannot offer disabled toilet facilities on the main site so please be sure to use the facilities in the car park before making your way down to the Sanctuary.

Carshare Scheme

Why not pay a visit to the Monkey Sanctuary and use the Careshare Devon scheme. Find out more about the scheme by visiting the website or calling 08700 111199.

Bus Service

We are sorry to announce that, as of April 2008, buses no longer run toThe Monkey Sanctuary. We are contiuning to lobby for public transport for our visitors.

Accommodation

If you are looking for accommodation in the Monkey Sanctuary area, please visit the South East Cornwall Tourism Association website.