Zoo Saves Rare Monkey's Foot, She Becomes a Mom Again

When a rare roloway monkey named Masaya developed a mysterious swelling in her foot, veterinarians at Chester Zoo faced a problem they'd never solved before.

Masaya arrived at the zoo in 2023, and the foot trouble started almost immediately. X-rays, ultrasounds, and biopsies couldn't pin down what was wrong. The swelling kept returning, and without the ability to tell her caregivers where it hurt, Masaya's team had to become detectives.

The vets suspected an abscess, possibly from an old thorn injury. But as the mass grew to the size of a golf ball in 2025, they knew time was running out. Amputation loomed as the only option left, and for a monkey, losing a foot means losing the ability to hold a baby.

Veterinary officer Charlotte Bentley made an unusual house call. "It's not every day you take a monkey to vet school," she said, describing the day they transported Masaya to the University of Liverpool for a CT scan. They packed everything from anesthesia equipment to blankets.

The scan led to a decision: operate now or lose the foot. Rachel Burrow, a vet and lecturer who typically treats cats and dogs, stepped up. "This was the last chance to save Masaya's foot before amputation," she said. The team could find no record of this surgery ever being performed on a roloway monkey.

They went ahead anyway. The mass came out. All but one toe stayed put.

Why This Inspires

Primate keeper Zoe Edwards explained what was really at stake. "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 behaviours." For a monkey Edwards calls "a very experienced mum," that foot wasn't just about mobility. It was about motherhood.

Months after surgery, Masaya gave birth to her third daughter. Burrow's assessment: Masaya is "comfortable, active and using the limb well."

The roloway monkey is critically endangered, with fewer than 500 believed to exist in the wild. Every birth matters. Every mother who can care for her young matters even more.

Masaya's foot is healing, her daughter is thriving, and a team of vets proved that sometimes the best answer is the one nobody's tried yet.