MONKEY BUSINESS
Labour of love giving animals a brighter future in a corner of Wales
W
ITH far-reaching views over beautiful rolling hills, you’d expect this scene to be peaceful. Completely tranquil.
What you don’t expect to hear is the whooping and hooting of various breeds of primate.
That’s because, nestled in these Welsh hills in the Brecon Beacons, is the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary – home to more than 100 monkeys and around 200 animals in total.
It’s even got celebrity patrons in the form of James Corden and Sheridan Smith.
Approaching the site and taking in the views, the unassuming buildings and enclosures could easily be mistaken for a small farm. They’ve even got domesticated animals so it’s not a great leap.
But, other than the noises, it’s the massive portraits of chimpanzees dotted around the reception room that give the game away.
This place is a safe haven for a variety of primates – but running the sanctuary is no easy task.
When Jan Garen first opened the site where the monkey sanctuary is now, she had no intention of looking after more exotic animals.
Jan, who’s been an animal lover and vegetarian since she was a child, said the site has taken over her and husband Graham’s lives, adding: “Thankfully we did a lot before all this.”
She said: “It means everything. I’ve always been an animal lover. The primates just kind of happened.”
The sanctuary came about as a bit of an accident. Their main focus was initially on domesticated animals and the site was known as the Cefn Yr Erw study centre. The closure of a nearby zoo changed that.
“We were already here with a study centre for schools,” said Jan. “We had a B&B and restaurant and we were rescuing domestic animals like horses, sheep, pigs and goats – nothing exotic. That started in 1989.
“The exotic started in 1998 when Penscynor [the wildlife park in Neath] closed.
“They were looking for homes for all of the animals. We didn’t pay much attention to it until we read in the paper – I think it was the Western Mail – that they were going to shoot the chimps because no-one would take them.
“So we phoned them up and made an appointment to see them. We saw the chimps – seven adults, absolutely enormous – and they hadn’t seen anybody for more than a month so they were wild, throwing mud at us and everything.
“When we discovered how strong the accommodation would need to be, we thought, ‘ We know nothing about chimps’. We saw another report in The Times – ‘Death row chimps’ – and we thought, ‘ Aw no’. We were hooked and that was it.”
The chimps, who ranged in age from 14 to 37, faced being put down unless a new home was found for them within weeks.
Jeremy, Vicki, Winnie, Neusi, Suzi, Fergus and Twmi looked doomed after Penscynor was forced to close due to lack of funds.
Jan said: “It started with seven chimps and at the last minute we took the two Lar Gibbons as well that were going to be sold to a dealer.
“We didn’t know where they were going to end up. A dealer will sell on to labs or into the pet trade – not a nice life at all. We still had all the domestic animals.”
Now the team often go on rescue trips from their Abercrave base to bring in new arrivals in need of looking after.
Mike Williams has been working at the site for 15 years. He’s got a few roles – he takes pictures, helps with maintenance of the site, and goes on these rescue trips, of which he did three this year – to Spain, Germany and Bulgaria.
Jan explained that the sanctuary has specialist ambulance for rescues that are equipped with water, oxygen, a heater and air conditioning.
“They’re fitted with quarantine crates,” she said, adding: “There are two built-in bunks for them to sleep in – you can’t go and collect a monkey and stay in a hotel overnight. Once you’ve got the monkey on board, you’re there. [The team] sleeps in the van with them.”
Jan added: “The last trip was down to Spain, through France and through Germany and then back home, collecting two monkeys. They’ve got to be in quarantine for four months.”
As well as rescuing primates, they’ve also recently run a campaign to help fund a ranger’s salary in Angola.
Hitting their target, this money will help pay a “people’s ranger” for a year, along with providing all the necessary kit, to stop young endangered primates being ripped from their homes on a reserve in Cabinda.
According to Jan, these young chimps are taken for the pet trade, but for every monkey taken, nine of the family will end up dead.
On site they currently have more than 100 monkeys.
All of the animals, especially the chimpanzees, have their own stories.
A number of the chimps have January 1 listed as their birthday as these ones were “wild caught”, meaning they were captured in the wild when they would have been babies.
“A lot of these have been born in captivity. The two originals from Penscynor, they were born there, Fergus and Twmi. They usually come from closed zoos,” said Jan.
“We’ve Twmi and Fergus from Penscynor, Ronnie from Germany, Nakima from Belgium and last of all we’ve put Billy in there from Bulgaria and they’re all getting on well.
“Ronnie does sign language – tells people to take their glasses off, their hats off and their coats off. And he’ll keep going! He learnt sign language in Germany, but he makes himself understood. When it’s raining and he’s in the day room, they all do it. They all take their hoods down and he’s in the dry – they’re getting soaking!”
The newest chimpanzee, Toto – the ex-Drayton Manor chimp – brings the sanctuary’s total to eight. He’s 53 years old and the sanctuary is a bit like a retirement home of sorts.
“They’re in a routine, it’s a comfort for them,” added Jan.
“Toto is a real showman and he loves his public audience.”
But chimps take a lot of looking after.
“They get to 15 stone,” said Jan. “And eight times as strong as a man. An adult male chimp can drag 1,000 kilos. That’s why the accommodation has to be dedicated to them – you can’t just pop them in somewhere.”
Jan also talks about expanding the site – there are big plans for the future, including a new marmoset enclosure and another wolf enclosure.
In September a new baboon was born on site after one of the rescued baboons from Spain was found to be pregnant.
Of course Jan took in the new baby too, saying: “What are you going to do? We’re not going to kill the baby.”
To donate to or just learn more about the sanctuary visit its website.