Monkey World

This thriving sanctuary was founded by Jim Cronin in 1987. He got inspired to build the sanctuary for which would home rescued primates, after Spain leased a legislation which banned the use of chimpanzees as props by photographers on beaches or any other resort. The photographers would acquire the chimpanzees from the wild after they were smuggled from their natural families(who would most certainly have to be killed in order to capture the babies) and shipped aboard into Spain where they were sold on the black market to be purchased by beach photographers. The chimpanzees would be dressed in human clothing and accessories, beaten to stay sedate, have most of their teeth knocked out to prevent them biting the tourists they were forced to pose for photographs with and drugged with valium or any other 'calming drugs' to keep the animals under control. Eventually when the chimpanzees reached 6 or 7 years old they grow to become too immensely strong and dangerous and due to their increasing wild behaviour and uncontrollable antics they would be killed and replaced by another smuggled baby chimpanzee. Fortunately the Spanish government reinforced the law which protected chimpanzees and a British couple called Simon and Peggy Templer started a rescue for confiscated chimpanzees. Eventually in 1986 Jim Cronin approached the Templers and discussed on how to create a safe heaven for these mistreated animals and that was when 'Monkey World-Ape Rescue Centre' was hatched, at first as Jim's ambition which progressed to reality.

Jim Conin leased a 65-acre (260,000 m²) land which was a derelict pig farm prior to Monkey World. He got permission to build his first enclosures and on 13/07/87 brought the first group of 8 beach chimpanzees from the Templers and housed a group of barbary macaques with one hand-reared bornean orangu-utan brought by Jeremy Keeling, who helped Jim to build and construct the sanctuary. More rescues increased the number of primates residing at Monkey World which has now become the largest primate rescue in the world. Monkey World works with foreign governments to stop the illegal smuggling of primates from the wild.

Monkey World Primate Rescues & Events Chronology

• July 13, 1987: Nine chimpanzees ( Paddy, Beth, Busta, Cindy, Zoe, Jimmy, Sammy, Taffy and Micky ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain. Taffy passed away.
• August 7, 1987: Jim Cronin opened Monkey World with nine chimpanzees, one Bornean orang-utan ( Amy )and a few monkey species rescued from various laboratories.
• September 5, 1989: Two chimpanzees ( Butch and Charlie ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• April 24, 1990: Three chimpanzees ( Cathy, Grisby and Clin ) arrived at the park as ex-French loboratory animals.
• November 23, 1990: One chimpanzee ( Chatta ) arrived at the park as an ex-photographer's prop from Spain.
• July 5, 1991: Four chimpanzees ( Mona, Mojo, Rocky and Kyko ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• July 6, 1991: Two chimpanzees ( Chico and Peggy ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• April 24, 1992: Two chimpanzees ( Paco and Gamba ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• May 13, 1993: Eight chimpanzees ( Rodney, Bixa, Evie, Jestah, Buxom, Arfur, Jess and Jane-who gave birth to Bob) arrived at the park from Windsor Safari Park.
• November 11, 1992: Two chimpanzees ( Cherri and Kay ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• November 10, 1993: Three chimpanzees ( Peppa, Lola and Sally ) arrived at the park as ex-photographer's props from Spain.
• December 11, 1993: Two chimpanzees ( Olympia and Athena ) arrived at the park from a circus in Greece.
• November 24, 1995: One chimpanzee ( Freddy ) arrived at the park as possibly an ex-pet from Austria.
• August 28, 1996: Four chimpanzees ( Hananya, Tikko, Semach and Gypsy) arrive at the park as smuggled individuals from Israel.
• September 26, 1996: One chimpanzee ( Simon ) arrives at the park after being found tathered at the petrol station in Valencia, Spain.
• March 31, 1997: Chimpanzee Chico died from oesaphagal collapse.
• November 7, 1997: One chimpanzee ( Pacito ) arrived at the park after being found in a garden shed in Barcelona, Spain.
• December 9, 1997: Orang-utan Amy gives birth to baby Gordon.
• April 22, 1998: One chimpanzee ( Trudy ) arrives at the park after being confiscated from an abusive British circus trainer.
• March 2, 1999: Chimpanzee Cherri gives birth to baby Seamus.
• May 8, 1999: Chimpanzee Olympia gives birth to baby Hebe.
• September 29, 1999: Chimpanzee Clin gives birth to baby Johni.
• July 19, 2000: One Bornean orang-utan ( RoRo ) and a group of different sub-species of gibbon(including Zoey, Dalumie, Nini, Fox, Adidas, Alex, Nike and Paul) arrived at the park from the Ping Tung Rescue Centre in Taiwan.
• July 21, 2001: Two Bornean orang-utans ( Hsiao-Quai and Lucky ) and two young gibbons ( Pung-Yo and Kitty )arrive at the park from the Ping Tung Rescue Centre in Taiwan.
• September 19, 2001: Chimpanzee Peggy gives birth to baby Ben.
• September 23, 2001: Chimpanzee Susie gives birth to baby Eddi.
• November 15, 2001: Chimpanzee Cherri gives birth to baby Pip.
• January 21, 2002: Two Bornean orang-utans ( Tuan and Hsiao-Lan ) arrive at the park from the Ping Tung Rescue Centre in Taiwan.
• May 21, 2002: One chimpanzee ( Çarli ) arrives at the park from the entertainment industry in Turkey.
• July 17, 2002: One chimpanzee ( Tutti ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Saudi Arabia.
• August 31, 2003: Bornean orang-utan RoRo gives birth to baby Hsiao-Ning.
• February 19, 2003: One chimpanzee ( Alberto ) arrived at the park as an ex-photographer's prop from Spain.
• January 18, 2004: One chimpanzee ( Kuki ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Istanbul, Turkey.
• April 19, 2004: One chimpanzee ( Zeynep ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Turkey.
• June 22, 2005: One chimpanzee ( Patricia ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Fuerteventura.
• March 17, 2006: One Bornean orang-utan ( Joly ) arrives at the park from Moscow Zoo.
• July 6, 2006: Bornean Orang-utan RoRo gives birth to baby Dinda.
• March 5, 2007: Monkey World founder Jim Cronin passes away.
• July 7, 2007: Chimpanzee Susie gives birth to baby Bart.
• January 2008: Eighty-eight capuchin monkeys arrive at the park from a laboratory in Chile.
• 2009: A new Orang-utan Nursery complex is built. Chimpanzee Ben is moved out of Hananya's Group and into the Bachelor Group.
• February 2009: Chimpanzee Charlie died.
• November 2009: Bornean orang-utan Hsiao-Quai gives birth to baby Jin.
• August 2010: One Bornean Orang-utan ( Oshine ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Johannesburg, South Africa.
• June 4, 2010: One baby golden-cheeked gibbon ( Mikado ) arrived from a zoo in France.
• November 2010: Woolly monkey Xusy died. Stump-tailed macaque Gerald died.
• November 5, 2010: 9 Stump-tailed macaques arrived at the park from Edinburgh
• December 7, 2010: One Sumatran Orang-utan ( Silvestre ) arrives at the park from a zoo in Spain.
• January 27, 2011: One chimpanzee ( Kiki ) arrives at the park as an ex-pet from Lebanon.

Monkey World - Ape Rescue Centre is home to 223 primates of 16 different species.

Monkey World has rescued chimpanzees from Spain, Greece, Turkey, the Netherlands, Britain, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Israel and Lebanon where they were being mistreated as photographers' props, medical research subjects, exotic pets and circus entertainers. In 1993, Monkey World accepted an entire colony of chimpanzees from Windsor Safari Park after it closed down. Monkey World is now home to the largest number of these Great Apes outside of Africa.

There are currently 59 chimpanzees in park, living in four social groups, three adult groups and one nursery.

This group of 19 is the second largest group of chimpanzees in the park. Hananya took over the group after former leader Rodney died after a heart attack. Rodney was the dominant male in this group and Hananya was his second in command. Hananya was an adolescent male by then and clearly had a lot of respect for his leader. This however began to change as Hananya grew in confidence and size and following a detereoration in respect for Rodney, Hananya and Rodney fought and most of the members chose to back up the younger and fitter Hananya and turned on Rodney. Rodney was badly hurt and despite treatment the shock was just too much for 39 year old Rodney and he died of a heart attack. New encrowned leader Hananya struggled with his new position, mainly because he found it hard to discipline the other chimps because he grew up with the majority of the group. But he began to get there and Hananya is receiving a lot more respect from his group and is proving to be able to live up to his role as Alpha male and his new second in command is Tikko, who supports Hananya when he needs to. Other members of this group include Simon, he was found tethered to a post before being rescued in Spain. Simon is a very astitute chimp, always thinking and calculating, he has be known as 'Acrobatic Simon' because of his tendencies of swinging in the ropes in the outside enclosure. In this group there are two main dominant females, Cherri and Peggy. Cherri is noticeably the most dominant of the two and does not take kindly to newcomers though she did show her softer side during the 'Ben and Pip Introductions'. Cherri has had two babies, Seamus who was born in 999 but had to be taken away from Cherri at birth, and Pip who was born in 2001 who also had to be hand-reared but died while under anaesthetic following a rouf and tumble with another chimp. Peggy is the other dominant female in the group and she gave birth to Ben in 2001 but rejected him. Both Cherri and Peggy were re-introduced to their offspring in 2008 when youngsters Ben and Pip who had graduated from the Nursery Group, joined Hananya's. Ben could not fully integrate and was moved to another group and Pip sadly passed away after suffering a mad reaction to the anaesthetic. There have been many arrivals to this group over the years. Kuki and Zeynep both arrived from Turkey and are believed to be half-sisters, Eveline, Honey, Tutti and Johni who all came from the Nursery Group and Patricia from Fuerteventura. On January 27, 2011 was the arrival of a rescued female chimpanzee called Kiki, who lived as a pet in Lebanon. Kiki is settling in well and has already met several of her new family in this group. Currently in this group reside Alpha male Hananya, Arfur, Cherri, Eveline, Honey, Jess, Johni, Kiki, Kuki, Marjoline, Patricia, Peggy, Semach, Simon, Tikko, Trudy, Tutti, Valerie and Zeynep.

This group of 20 is the largest group of chimpanzees in the park. Paddy is one of the original first chimpanzees who lived at Monkey World since 1987 after being rescued from a life as a beach photographer's prop in Spain. The majority of his group are ex-beach photographer chimps as well and some in this group were the eight chimps to first live at the park. Unlike the other chimp groups at the park, this group is the oldest and most stable, home to a number of dominant females and one such dominant female is Beth. Beth is also one of the first rescued chimps from Spain and is the dominant female in this group followed by Zoe, Susie, Bixa and Cindy, who are also dominant females. Paddy and his group ousted two members over the years, Paco and Jimmy. Paco was moved out of this group following a conflict with the alpha male's second in command, Jimmy. He was moved to the Bachelor group where he has settled in well. Jimmy was Paddy's no. 2 until things began to change when Paddy's group took a stand against him and ousted him from the group, Jimmy was also moved in the Bachelor Boys. Following Jimmy's departure, Busta has stepped up as Paddy's new right-hand man though still has his hands full controlling Gamba. Other members of this group include Gamba, who is the naughtiest and is affectionately known as 'Cheeky Gamba' because of his normally boisterous ways. Peppa is one of the more quiet members who stays in the fringes of the group. This group is most certainly widely known because of its successful births and the first birth in this group was that of Hebe. Hebe was born in 1999 to Olympia, a young low-ranking female. Olympia and her baby clearly bonded and Hebe stayed with her mother and extended family for the first 11 months of life. Unfortunately Olympia's milk dried up and Hebe had to be removed and hand-reared with Johni, another baby born to this group by Clin before she and Johni were old enough to be re-introduced to their family group. Hebe was immediately accepted but Johni was ousted and joined the Nursery Group before joining Hananya's group where she is slowly becoming a dominant female. In 2005 Olympia died of cancer. Cathy, one of the large females, gave birth to Ash in 2005 and although there were initial signs of Cathy looking after her baby were promising, the baby did not feed and Cathy started to roll Ash up in the wood wool and poke her, so Ash had to be taken away and hand-reared. The more successful births are that of Eddi and her little brother Bart. Eddi was born in 2001 to Susie, who took care of her brilliantly without any problems and six years later gave birth to another baby, Bart, who she is looking after well as she did with Eddi. Currently in this group reside Alpha male Paddy, Athena, Bart, Beth, Bixa, Busta, Cathy, Chatta, Cindy, Clin, Eddi, Gamba, Grisby, Hebe, Kay, Lola, Micky, Peppa, Susie and Zoe.

This group of 15 is the third largest group of chimpanzees in the park. This group is the most unique because it is an all-male group of chimps that do not fit into any other groups in the park and have affectionately been known as the Bachelor Boys, and part of the reason they have this name is due to their rowdy behavior. Butch is the dominant male in this group and arrived at Monkey World in 1989 after being used as a photographer's prop. He arrived with Charlie, one of the most lovable characters in the whole park, and the two shared a long friendship. Charlie was one of the most badly abused chimps ever rescued and had many physical, medical and psychological scars from his previous life as a photographer's prop in Spain. He recovered slowly through rehabilitation but unfortunately Charlie's condition deteriorated in early 2009 and he died on February 8, 2009. There have been a couple of adjustments to this group and one was the arrival of Alberto, a chimp rescued in Spain. Alberto lived 16 years of his life as a beach-chimp and took a while to adjust to living with other chimps. Alberto died in 2005 after only a short time of at Monkey World. Then the arrival of Paco, from Paddy's group, who moved in with the boys after an unsettled conflict with another chimp and was accepted as another member of Bachelors. Jimmy, also from Paddy's group, was moved in with the 'hooligans' after he began to challenge Paddy's authority. Once he was moved in with Bachelors he met up with Paco, who he ousted while still living in Paddy's group. Paco has grown into quit a large male and has an impressive contrast. Other members include half-brothers Jestah and Buxom, a high-ranking pair of males who rule the group alongside Butch. Freddy, one of the more quiet members, suffered from piles which he received treatment for. Sammy, who has droopy ears, is one of the first chimps rescued from Spain 1987 and Pacito was rescued from a life living in an garden shed in Barcelona. Kyko was abused as a photographer's prop when he was forced to wear roller skates and Mojo and Rocky arrived at the same time from Spain as former beach-photographer's props. Carlie(pronounced 'Charlie') arrived from Turkey where he lived as a television film star. Another arrival was Seamus, who had left the Nursery Group and joined the Bachelor boys following a failed integration into Hananya's group and Ben, the latest arrival, also joined this group following a failed integration into Hananya's group. Currently in this group reside Alpha male Butch, Ben, Buxom, Çarli, Freddy, Gypsy, Jestah, Jimmy, Kyko, Mojo, Pacito, Paco, Rocky, Sammy and Seamus.

This group is the fourth chimpanzee group in the park and is home to 5, also affectionately known as Nursery Group. This group was set up as a nursery where young chimps grow up until old enough to join an adult group in the park. This group is home to Sally, the park's full-time foster mum who was rescued in 1993 from Spain where she lived as a photographer's prop. Sally has a lot of maternal instincts and has helped rear many chimps in Monkey World. Lulu arrived from Cyprus with one-arm after her other arm was bitten by her mother and became infected leading to amputation. Then was the arrival of newest babies, Ash(Cathy's daughter, born in Paddy's group in 2005) and Rodders(Jess's son, born in Hananya's group in 2005). Ash and Rodders are coming on leaps and bounds. The latest arrival to the chimp nursery is Bryan, who was rescued from a Mexico zoo who arrived at Monkey World in 2006. Currently in this group are Sally, Ash, Bryan, Rodders and Lulu.

Monkey World has rehomed these Great Asian Apes from the Pingtung Rescue Centre for Endangered Wild Animals in Taiwan, the country where orang-utans where smuggled into for the illegal pet trade. Bornean orang-utans are an endangered species and the individuals at the park are allowed to breed, as part of the European Breeding Programme for Endangered Species(EEP).

There are currently 16 Bornean Orang-utans living at Monkey World in three social groups:

This group contains the oldest male Tuan, and three females: Amy (the first orangutan in the park and Gordon's Mother), Lucky, and Ro-Ro (mother of Hsiao-Ning and Dinda). Amy gave birth to a baby girl in October 2008, but the baby died the next day for unknown reasons.

This second group contains Gordon, Hsiao-Lan, and Hsiao-Quai her sons Kai and new baby Jin who she gave birth to on 12 November 2009. Jin means handsome in Chinese. In late 2010 Hsiao-Ning and A-Mei were moved out of the Orang-utan Nursery and moved into Gordon's group.

The Nursery Group currently lives in a specially designed enclosure for young orangutans. The current residents are: youngsters Dinda (daughter of Ro-Ro) Lingga and Joly from France and Russia, respectively and on 7 December 2010 an orphaned baby sumatran orang-utan called Silvestre arrived from a zoo in Spain where he was abandoned by his mother. He has joined the orang-utan nursery and is settling in well.

In August 2010 a new orang-utan called Oshine (pronounced 'O-sheeen') arrived at the park with a serous physical condition of being overweight. Although adult, she lives in the nursery group until her condition improves and she is ready to move into an adult group. Since A-Mei left to join Gordon's group, Oshine is now the only adult female in the nursery orangutan group.

There are currently five groups of different Gibbon sub-species at the park.

Currently there are two Siamang gibbons at Monkey World. These are Sam and his offspring, Onion, who was born in 2000. Mother Sage died in April 2009 due to a bowel obstruction.

This group of primates is part of the European Breeding Programme for Endangered Species(EEP), therefore breeding is encouraged to safe guard the survival of the species. So far there are 10 of these gibbons in the park. They are named:

• Zoey and Jake and their daughter Kim born on 31 March 2008 Kim means "Golden" in Vietnamese. 1st sept 2010 saw the arrival of their new baby and first son, Zak.

• Peanut and Pung-Yo, their elder child, Tien and their second infant, a female named Tia Nang, which they welcomed on 18 February 2009. Peanut and Pung-Yo were the first pair to produce a child in the park (Tien).

• Alex and Mikado, the young male orphan
• Vietta and Tito are a pair bond and high hopes they will breed in the future

These species of gibbon are quite rare in zoos but there are currently 4 of them in the park:

• Dalumie and Adidas (male and female)

• Fox & Nini (both male)

There are three Lar gibbons and one Agile gibbon living at the park. The Agile Gibbon Paul lives with Kitty, a Lar gibbon, whilst the other Lar gibbons, Ella and Nike, live in another enclosure.

In October 2010, Oberon, the only goeldi's monkey, passed away. With his death means that his species does not exist at the park any longer.

Monkey World comprises over 230 primates and apart from the Apes, there is a collection of monkeys and prosimian species living at the park.

• Ring-Tailed Lemurs and Ruffed Lemur - There are a total of 11 ring-tailed lemurs in the park, they reside in a walkthrough woodland enclosure known as 'Malagasy'. The males that live in the walkthrough woodland enclosure are Indiana, Cirrius, Himal, Douglas, Whitespot, Houdini, George and Rentin. There is a female called Fennel who joined the boys and there is a new female called Kaiyah. There is also a ruffed lemur called Blue who happily resides in Malagasy with the boys, Fennel & Kaiyah.
• Stump-Tailed Macaques - There are 16 of these primates at Monkey World and are affectionately called the "Ugly Monkeys". The 5 resident monkeys currently live in one group. These came from various research centres around the UK, named Sam, David, Phil, Jonathan and Paddy live in the original enclosure. In November 2010, 10 new macaques arrived from a lab in Edinburgh. There were 9 females and a male called Wilmot. Sadly, two days after the new macaques arrived, Wilmot died due to a heart attack. The 5 boys were introduced to the 9 females. and so far things are going smoothly. The current individuals are David (taking over from Scott as the new dominant male), Sam, Phil, Jonathan, Paddy, Norine, Maureen, Cola, Charlie (girl), Fingers, Miriam, Sylvie, Rachael and Kelly.

• Squirrel Monkeys - There are only 5 of these small primates in the park, one of which came from a German laboratory, with the other two rescued in March 2008 from the UK pet trade. Another female was rescued May 2009. Their names are Alien, Topsy, Turvey and Samantha. A new squirrel monkey male arrived in 2010 called Fidget.

• Woolly Monkeys - There are 16 of these rare monkeys at Monkey World, including several babies that have been hand-reared by primate care staff and others who are being cared for by their mothers. In November 2010, Xusy, the oldest woolly monkey in the world at 38 years old, sadly passes away.In April 2010, two elderly woolly monkeys, Oaska (male) and Quapa (female), were moved from Basel Zoo in Iceland to Monkey World. They have now formed a third group with Lena (born in Levar's group) and Xingu (born in Bueno's group) who moved out of Bueno's group. Oaska is a sub-species of woolly monkey known as the silvrey woolly monkey(Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii)

Levar's group consists of Levar(the dominant male), Piquita (the dominant female),Branco, Ayla, Kuna, Diego and Julio.

Bueno's group consists of Bueno(the dominant male), Yarima(the dominant female), Enzo and Paulo. On November 13, 2010, the last female woolly monkey in the USA arrived from Louisville Zoo in Kentucky. Her name is Sara and so far she is getting along with everybody, although Yarima is still a bit wary!

Oaska's group consists of Oaska(the dominant male), Lena, Quapa and Xingu.

• Capuchin Monkeys - 78 capuchins reside in Monkey World. The two originals are Terri and Gismo. In January 2008, 88 new capuchins arrived from Chile and have all been given names; these new arrivals are currently living in the new capuchin lodge and at the ex stump tail/woolly monkey house. A further 2 were rescued from the British pet trade at the same time. Tom died in July 2008. Several females have died since. In the summer of 2009, TJ died. In autumn 2009, two female capuchins were rescued from Spain. Their names are Babe and Amy II as there was already am Amy in the park.

In the group of boys resides Shawn(the dominant male), Gorilon, Joey, Fabian, Franco, Phillippe, Onslow, Erico, Donny, William, Garbonzo, Diez, Sunny, Reg, Boyce, Ringo, Bruce, Norman, Winslow, Ralph, Marlow, Archie, Caesar and Gismo.

In Amy's group resides Amy(the dominant female), Mary, Elvira, Elisa, Emily, Cara, Zoë, Becky, Digit, Phoebe, Sooty and Marcy.

In Debbie's group resides Debbie(the dominant female), Dorothy, Scarlet, Clare, Jill, Lionell, Leonie, Pride, G.I. Jane, Molly, Phillipa, Babe, Freda, Lilia, Oyster, Kelly, Pippa, Keira, Tia and Ester.

In Lizzy's group resides Lizzy(the dominant female), Tilly, Veronica, Cecilia, Pirate, Dot, Laura, Rosie, Binty, Terri, Mini, Theresa, Alison, Maddie, Lil, Jackie, Trish, Kate, Tallulah, Abbie and Ashlin.

• Common Marmosets - There are currently 11 marmosets in the park. There's one family (Harry the mum, Louis the dad and their children, Henry, Hazel and Lionel), another family (Lenny, Gabi and their adopted son, Solomon) and two pairs (Betty-Boo and Max and Kayla and Nathan).
• Cottontop Tamarins - There are 2 of these at the park. Their names are Uncas and Alice. They arrived in March 2009 from Kent. They share the squirrel monkeys' enclosure.

Monkey World covers 65 acres (26.30 ha) of park and within this enormous sanctuary are over 208 individual apes and monkeys which make up the primates living in it. To ensure that all the primates receive their day-to-day care is a dedicated team of people working and caring for them known as the Primate Care Staff. These people have hands-on experience in caring for wild animals and are effectively trained to know how to not only feed the animals but to rehabilitate them to give them a better life. The care of each primate depends on the species and its specific diet and life requirements.

The park comprises 71 apes which make up the chimps, orang-utans and all the species of gibbon(lesser apes). These large, powerful primates require a lot of stimulation in order to ensure their mental and physical well being. The enclosures cover around 2 acres (0.81 ha), containing lash grass, shrubs to add a more natural setting, and mand-made structures. These structures include the climbing aparatus/frames, which are made up of telephone poles of wood which are strong enough to withstand the strength of the apes and also provide a setting which enables them to swing and jump, movements which they would exhibit in their natural environment. The outside enclosures have viewing yowers for the observation of the animals. The outside enclosures are connected to indoor accommodations/complex, known as the pavilions. These indoor sleeping quarters and playrooms comprise of hammocks, wood-wool and are heated to keep the animals warm during cold months. During cold winter months the Primate Care Staff spray oil over the hands and feet of the apes inorder to keep the supple and stop them cracking as well as provide extra enrichments such as donated blankets for the apes to play and amuse themselves with. Inorder to get close to the Apes for medical check-ups, the Primate Care Staff employ a training known as 'operant conditioning' which will allow the keepers to train the animals to prrsent certain parts of their body for medical checkups without the keepers having to put themselves at risk by getting close to the immensely powerful, potentially dangerous animals but at the same time build strong bonds with them. The indoor pavilions have a viewing window for the public to watch the apes inside as well as seeing them in their outside enclosure. The outside enclosures get refurbished regularly by improving the climbing apparatus, replacing them with new and interesting climbing frames and the indoor areas get polished and more wood-wool and replacement or addition of hammicks are put into their accommodation. As a form of mental stimulation, the apes are given feeding puzzles such as dog toys, kongs and puzzle feeders to enable the Apes to work for their food and put their amaizing intelligence to its full potential.

The Lesser Apes, (Gibbons) have enclosures with trees and other apparatus for swinging and branchiating. These highly delicate apes require specific nutritional requirements and are all endangered in the wild. All the rescued gibbons came from either other zoos or the 'Pingtung Rescue Centre for Endangered Wild Animals'. The Primate Care Staff place their feeding puzzles in the their indoor accommodation as well as refurbish their enclosures to enable these soectacular apes to move about much as they would in the wilds of Vietnam, Borneo and Sumatra.

The park comprises 152 smaller primate species, which make up the capuchin monkeys, common marmosets, stump-tailed macaques, woolly monkeys, cotton-top tamarins, goeldi's monkey, ring-tailed lemurs and squirrel monkeys. These delicate primates require intensive care to ensure that they live normal, healthy lives. A lot of consideration is put into designin their outdoor and indoor accommodation. The monkeys live in specious, leafy/vegetative-densed enclosures which replicate their natural, humid habitat. The enclosures are enriched with insects and fruits, hidden in puzzle feeders to enable the animals to work for their food and hence exhibit their nutural behaviour of hunting. Their indoor accommodation is carefully heated during cold weather, filled with objects of mental stimulation such as donated baskets and blankets to exhibit nesting behaviour. The Primate Care Staff train the monkeys to willingly walk into a travelling crate so that in the urgency of transportation to the vet clinic, the animals would not have to be sedated.

At Monkey World, chimps are rehabilitated into large social groups, much as they would exist in the wild. The females are generally kept on birth control because the centre is still actively rescuing chimps, so space and funding is limited. Monkey World also works in Asia with the "Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals" to try to stop the smuggling of gibbons and orangutans from the wild for use as pets. They also conduct undercover surveys of the illegal pet trade in South East Asia.

Within the centre there is a hospital and operating theatre where most of the medical examination and operations on the primates and monkeys are performed. There is a local vet and a specialist primate vet and the staff at Monkey World are recognized as experts in primate rehabilitation and health.

For the more active there is the woodland walk and the children's adventure play area. The café provides a wide range of hot and cold food, whilst the kiosks sell treats such as ice creams and cola. The well stocked gift shop is very popular, as is the viewing tower, from which you can see all over the park. Monkey World opens at 10am and closes at 5pm (6pm July and August). As of 2009, adult entrance tickets were £10.50 and children (3–15 years old) were £7.25 Family tickets (two adults and two children) cost £31.

All of the enclosures are viewable from level disability friendly paths. There is a section for disabled children in the play area and motorized scooters are available for use in the park free of charge. Guide dogs are permitted into the park. Monkey World attracts over half a million visitors a year.

In 2008, Monkey World, Pingtung Rescue Centre, Cat Tien National Park and the Forestry Protection Department worked together to create a centre in South Vietnam to save gibbons and other primates from the pet trade, smuggling, theme parks, restaurants and so on so that they can be released into the forests of the centre. They named it Dao Tien and it has already got 21 gibbons, 8 pygmy loris (7 in the wild and 1 in a semi-forested enclosure) and 4 black-shanked douc langurs. Here are their names:

GIBBONS BEING PREPARED FOR RELEASE

• Ha (male) & Noi (female)
• Da (male) & Lat (female)
• Nha (male) & Cuchi (female)
• Sa Mee (male)
• Dao (female), Lucy (female) and Khoi (male)
• Tau (male and white-cheeked gibbon) & Mei Lee (female and adoptive mother to Tau)
• Hien (male), Nhee (female) and Trang Bom (female)
• Teo (male) and Uh (female)
• Luat (male)
• Tim (male) and Charlotte (female)
• Hoa (female) and Bien (male)
• Charlie (male)
• Mika (female)

GIBBONS RELEASED INTO SEMI-WILD ENCLOSURES

• The Nursery Group: Ellie (the matriarch) Trang (female), Misu (female) and Lim Huyen (male)
• Lee Lee (male) and Merry (female)

All of the gibbons at Dao Tien are golden-cheeked gibbons apart from Tau who is a white-cheeked gibbon

PYGMY LORIS RELEASED IN THE FORESTS OF DAO TIEN

• Mistletoe (female) and Thang (male), Phuong (female) and Tuyet (male)

PYGMY LORIS RELEASED IN THE FORESTS OF CAT TIEN

• Toby (male), Nhan (male) and Simone (female)

PYGMY LORIS IN SEMI-FORESTED ENCLOSURES

• Hai (female)

BLACK-SHANKED DOUC LANGURS

• Chinh (female)
• Thanh (male)
• A female that still has to be named
• A baby male that still has to be named

SILVERED LANGUR

• A-Chih (male)

Awareness of the park has grown due to the ongoing TV documentary Monkey Business, which has completed its 9th season and its successor Monkey Life, going on its 5th season. Other awareness is made through general TV coverage across the world, which include:

• Monkey Life - Season 4 on National Geographic now showing.
• Monkey Life - Series 1,2 & 3 on Animal Planet. Currently showing on Animal Planet (Europe).
• Monkey Business on ITV and Animal Planet. A concluded series produced by Meridian Television focusing on Monkey World. Nine series have been broadcast to date, with two specials on "Jim Cronin's Legacy" broadcast in June 2008. Monkey Business has been succeeded by Monkey Life, produced by Primate Planet Productions Ltd.
• Nature Watch on ITV
• Operation Chimpanzee on BBC
• State of the Ark on BBC
• Animal Hospital on BBC
• CNN & Sky TV Highlighting a rescue operation in Turkey of smuggled chimpanzees
• ITV GMTV Covering the illegal pet trade in Turkey. Since 1998 Monkey World has been working in cooperation with the Turkish Government to stop the smuggling of chimpanzees from the wild for the entertainment and pet trade.
• QED Saving Trudy on BBC
• Russell Brand often talks about Monkey World in his BBC Radio 2 programme & podcast, and mentions it on Big Brother Celebrity Highjack when a house mate makes monkey noises.
• Karl Pilkington made a visit to Monkey World and was mentioned in his & Ricky Gervais' radio show on XFM.

Monkey World has won an array of awards including Attraction of the Year 2000, and sixth best family attraction in Britain 2004. Jim Cronin and Alison Cronin jointly received the Jane Goodall Award for their work with Monkey World.

On Saturday 17 March 2007 Jim Cronin died in a New York hospital aged 55 years, from liver cancer.

His widow, Alison, and the staff at Monkey World have promised to continue the legacy of Monkey World: "Monkey World will carry on with Alison at the forefront. We will make sure it is Jim’s lasting legacy." ^[2]