Hope Northumberland baby monkey can raise awareness of breed

Conservationists hope the birth of a monkey will help raise awareness of a “vulnerable” breed threatened by deforestation of its habitat.

Northumberland College Zoo at Kirkley Hall, Ponteland, welcomed a new baby Goeldi’s monkey as part of its conservation breeding programme and the zoo said it was “thriving”.

The species is classed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and sits on the organisation’s Red List of Threatened Species.

The zoo said it wanted to contribute to the Goeldi’s monkey population through its breeding programme and raise awareness of the “stunning primates”.