Rare Monkey Saved From Amputation Gives Birth to New Hope

Masaya the roloway monkey recently welcomed a daughter named Lagertha, just months after surgeons performed a risky operation that saved her foot and possibly her future as a mother.

The 15-year-old monkey living at Chester Zoo had developed a golf ball sized mass on her foot that threatened her mobility and her life. Zoo veterinarians teamed up with surgeons from the University of Liverpool's Small Animal Teaching Hospital to remove the growth while preserving as much of her foot as possible.

The medical team found no previous examples of the same procedure being performed on a roloway monkey. Despite the uncertainty, the operation succeeded, and Masaya kept all but one of her toes.

Rachel Burrow, a veterinarian and lecturer at the University of Liverpool, called it a last chance effort. Working with primates was completely different from her usual patients, who are typically cats and dogs, and she said it was a privilege to care for such a rare animal.

The timing made the surgery's success even more crucial. Being able to use her foot normally helps Masaya carry and care for her offspring, skills essential for any primate mother.

The Ripple Effect

Lagertha represents far more than one baby monkey. She's Masaya's third daughter, making the birth especially valuable for a species teetering on the edge of extinction.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, fewer than 2,000 roloway monkeys remain in the wild across Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Habitat destruction and poaching have devastated their populations, making every single birth significant.

Chester Zoo is one of only two places in the UK where these monkeys can be found. Masaya participates in the European Endangered Species Programme, a coordinated breeding effort designed to safeguard the species from disappearing forever.

Primate keeper Zoe Edwards says Masaya is parenting magnificently. Lagertha is only a few weeks old but already curious about her habitat and the people around her.

Masaya's foot problems had puzzled veterinarians since she arrived at Chester Zoo in 2023. X-rays, ultrasounds and biopsies couldn't pinpoint the underlying cause, though experts suspected a persistent abscess from an old thorn injury.

By 2025, the swelling had worsened enough that zoo staff transported Masaya to Liverpool for a CT scan. Charlotte Bentley, Veterinary Officer at the zoo's Animal Health Center, joked that it's not every day you take a monkey to vet school.

Today, both mother and daughter are thriving, offering visitors a glimpse of hope for a species that desperately needs it.