Rare Monkey Gives Birth Months After Foot Surgery

When Masaya the roloway monkey developed a golf ball sized mass on her foot, veterinarians faced a difficult choice: attempt a never-before-tried surgery or amputate. They chose hope.

The 15 year old monkey living at Chester Zoo underwent complex surgery last summer. Veterinarians from the zoo partnered with surgeons from the University of Liverpool's Small Animal Teaching Hospital to remove the mass while saving as much of her foot as possible.

The medical team couldn't find a single previous example of this procedure on a roloway monkey. Still, the operation succeeded, allowing Masaya to keep all but one toe.

Now Masaya has welcomed a daughter named Lagertha, and she's using her healed foot to care for her newborn perfectly. The timing couldn't be more critical for her species.

Rachel Burrow, a veterinarian at the University of Liverpool, said this was the last chance 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," she explained.

The surgery's success became even more important after the birth. Being able to use her foot normally plays a crucial role in Masaya's ability to carry and care for her offspring.

Primate keeper Zoe Edwards watched Masaya's recovery closely. "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," she said.

Masaya's foot problems had puzzled veterinarians since she arrived at Chester Zoo in 2023. They tried X-rays, ultrasounds, and biopsies, but the underlying cause remained mysterious. Veterinarians eventually suspected a persistent abscess, possibly from an old thorn injury.

By 2025, the swelling worsened enough that zoo staff transported Masaya to Liverpool for a CT scan. Charlotte Bentley, Veterinary Officer at the zoo, remembered the unusual day: "It's not every day you take a monkey to vet school."

The Ripple Effect

Lagertha is Masaya's third daughter, making this birth especially valuable. Fewer than 2,000 roloway monkeys remain in the wild across Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where habitat destruction and poaching threaten their survival.

Chester Zoo is one of only two places in the UK where roloway monkeys live. Masaya participates in the European Endangered Species Programme, a coordinated breeding effort designed to help safeguard species from extinction.

Because roloway monkeys are so rare, the health and reproductive success of individual animals like Masaya carries weight beyond her own family. Every healthy birth matters.

Little Lagertha, named after a Viking queen, is already showing curiosity about her habitat and the keepers who watch over her. She's thriving alongside her mother and four other monkeys at Chester Zoo, a tiny ambassador for her entire species.