THE MARTIN AND LULU APPEAL

Those who have visited the Owl & Monkey Haven before will be all too familiar with the story of Martin our white-throated capuchin:

Arriving at the Haven in late 2006, he and his brother Owen were the first of many monkeys to be rescued and taken in by us. They settled in quickly, and as the years passed their playful and mischievous personalities made them incredibly popular with staff and visitors alike. Most of their days would be spent creating as much noise, mess and mayhem as possible, and the two were virtually inseparable.

Unfortunately, in early 2010 Owen developed kidney problems, and despite various attempts to nurse him back to health; the disease finally claimed his life in February that year. For the first time ever, Martin was on his own. Not only that, but the loss of his brother meant that Martin was the only remaining white-throated capuchin left in the UK, making finding him company a very difficult task.

Since this unfortunate turn of events, keepers at the Haven have been giving Martin extra enrichment, (including toys, challenges, enclosure refurbishments etc.) to keep his mind occupied and prevent him from getting bored; but this is in no way a permanent solution to the problem of having a lonely monkey.

There is, however, hope.

A zoo in France have offered us a female white-throated capuchin by the name of Lulu. The group that she is currently being kept in have rejected her, meaning that she is in the same position as Martin. This is incredibly exciting for us, but bringing a monkey into the UK from another country is a long and expensive process: A new quarantine-approved enclosure will need to be built (the foundations of which are already in place), collection will need to be arranged and there are stacks upon stacks of paperwork to sort out.

We estimate the total cost of this project to be around £33,000, and although this is a daunting figure, we believe that with your help it is an achievable target.

Donations towards this cause will be gratefully received, and can be left in the various collection boxes on site, at our gift shop/café, or by pressing the "donate" button to the right and sending us money via paypal.

Merci beaucoup,

Martin and Lulu