Monkey troop killed in blaze at safari park

Faulty generator believed to have caused fire that claimed 13 animals

Woburn Safari Park’s entire troop of 13 Patas monkeys has been killed in a fire believed to have been caused by a faulty generator.

The blaze broke out in the early hours of yesterday in the African Forest drivethrough enclosure of the park in Bedfordshire.

It is the second fire to strike animal centres in less than two weeks, after one at London Zoo before Christmas killed an aardvark and four meerkats.

Woburn spokesman Drew Mullin said park staff were left “devastated” after the blaze ripped through the Pat as monkey house, killing all 13 animals inside.

The fire and rescue service said: “We have concluded that it is likely the fire started accidentally in a generator.”

Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 2.30am when the fire was spotted by security guards on patrol.

However, fire station commander Paul Goddard said he believed all the monkeys had died before crews arrived.

“They found the outbuilding housing Patas monkeys was well alight and its roof had fallen in,” a spokesman for the service said.

“The building was 90% damaged by the fire.”

The fire service said the incident was over by 4.46am and the park opened later in the morning, although the jungle enclosure remained closed yesterday as investigations continued.

All other animals within the jungle drive-through enclosure are being monitored by park staff, but none are thought to have been affected.

According to website UK Zoos, the only other place in the UK that houses the breed is Colchester Zoo in Essex.