Endangered monkey gives birth after Uni of Liverpool vet team performed pioneering surgery

A critically endangered monkey has been able to give birth just months after a pioneering surgery saved her from undergoing an amputation.

Masaya, an adorable 15-year-old roloway monkey at Chester Zoo, brought her daughter Lagertha into the world this week.

But over the summer, surgeons from the University of Liverpool’s Small Animal Teaching Hospital assisted vets at Chester Zoo in removing a golf-ball sized mass from the monkey’s foot.

The surgeons were performing under high risk, as there was no known example of this surgery being performed on a roloway monkey before.

In the pioneering surgery, the team managed to successfully save all but one of Masaya’s toes. She’s now living her best life at Chester Zoo, with a brand new baby to take care of.

Zoe Edwards, primate keeper at Chester Zoo, said: “The fact Masaya’s foot has healed so well is a huge relief”.

“If she’d had an amputation, we’d have been left with real questions about whether she could hold her offspring or continue with her normal behaviors”.

The cute new arrival, Lagertha, is Masaya’s third daughter, and her birth marks a significant moment for the species.

The baby roloway is already showing off her personality, and the traits adopted from her mum.

“Chester Zoo is one of only two places in the UK that roloway monkeys can be found, and Masaya is very important – not just to her family, but to her whole species. There are only a few breeding females in zoos in Europe” said the zoo’s primate keeper.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), fewer than two thousand roloway monkeys live wild in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where they face habitat loss and poaching.

They are so rare that the health of individuals like Masaya is highly significant to the European Endangered Species Programme, the breeding project set up to ensure the survival of the species.

Most Read

Man from Louis Theroux’s manosphere doc addresses his sexuality after ‘gay p*rn’ past leaks

Justin Waller’s real net worth revealed – and it’s not what he said on Louis Theroux’s doc

I hate to say it, but Bonnie Blue’s filthy response to HSTikkyTokky has changed my opinion of her

Masaya has experienced recurring and hard to explain problems with her foot since she arrived at the zoo in 2023.

Following a series of x-rays, ultrasounds and biopsies, the vets concluded it was likely a persistent abscess, possibly from an old thorn injury. When the swelling worsened in 2025, the decision was made to take Masaya to Liverpool for a CT scan.

Rachel Burrow, vet and lecturer at the University of Liverpool, played a key role in the CT scan and the operation.

She said: “This was the last chance to save Masaya’s foot before amputation. Working with primates is completely different from my usual patients, who are typically cats and dogs, and it was a real privilege to care for such a rare animal.

“It’s great to see the surgery was a success – she’s comfortable, active and using the limb well”.

And just like our beloved Punch the monkey over in Japan, Masaya and her new baby have captured the hearts of their keepers.

Charlotte Bentley, Veterinary Officer at the zoo’s Animal Health Centre, said: “It’s not every day you take a monkey to vet school. We had to bring everything she might need, from anaesthesia equipment to medications and blankets.

“Following the scan, we decided an operation was the way forward. She’s been an absolute trooper all the way through, and I’m just glad we were able to do something for her”.

Masaya and Lagertha, who is named after a Viking queen, can be seen alongside four other monkeys at Chester Zoo – and she’s definitely showing queen behaviour.

Day trip to Chester, anyone?

Featured images via Instagram @chesterzoo