Veterinary surgeons at the University of Liverpool's Small Animal Teaching Hospital have achieved a significant breakthrough in primate conservation, performing the first-ever surgery on a Roloway monkey in captivity. The patient, a 15-year-old female named Masaya, underwent the procedure to remove a golf-ball sized abscess from her foot weeks before giving birth to a healthy daughter.
The surgical intervention required the amputation of one toe but preserved the majority of Masaya's foot functionality, a critical outcome for a species where maternal care depends heavily on physical dexterity. Masaya subsequently delivered her daughter, named Lagertha, and has demonstrated exemplary parenting capabilities despite her recent medical ordeal.
"Masaya is a very experienced mom and she's parenting magnificently," said Zoe Edwards, primate keeper at Chester Zoo. "The fact Masaya's foot has healed so well is a huge relief. If she'd had a [full] amputation, we'd have been left with real questions about whether she could hold her offspring or continue with her normal behaviors."
Chester Zoo represents one of only two facilities in the United Kingdom housing Roloway monkeys, a critically endangered species native to the rainforests of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified these primates among the most urgently threatened species on the planet, with populations decimated by habitat loss and historical hunting pressure.
Masaya arrived at Chester Zoo in 2023 with recurring foot problems that veterinary staff initially diagnosed as an abscess. When the swelling intensified in 2025, zoo officials made the decision to transport the primate to Liverpool for comprehensive CT imaging, an unusual but necessary step in determining the appropriate treatment protocol.
"It's not every day you take a monkey to vet school," said Charlotte Bentley, Veterinary Officer at the zoo's Animal Health Center. "Following the scan, we decided an operation was the way forward."
The birth of Lagertha represents the third Roloway monkey born at Chester Zoo since 2020, when the facility achieved the first captive birth of this species. With only a handful of breeding females in European zoos and just one other in England at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, each successful birth carries profound implications for species survival.
The Roloway monkey once thrived throughout the lush rainforests of West Africa but now exists only in isolated fragments of old-growth forest. According to the New England Primate Conservancy, these large-bodied primates have been hunted to such diminished numbers that they are now considered economically unviable targets for poachers, providing an inadvertent and temporary reprieve from that particular threat.
Conservation experts acknowledge that captive breeding programs currently represent the most viable pathway for species survival. These programs aim to maintain genetic diversity and population numbers until native habitats in Ghana and the Ivory Coast can be adequately protected from logging operations and poaching activities.
The successful surgery and subsequent birth demonstrate the critical role that advanced veterinary medicine plays in modern conservation efforts. As wildlife populations face mounting pressures from habitat destruction and climate change, the intersection of medical innovation and species preservation becomes increasingly vital to preventing extinctions.