Rare Roloway Monkey Beats the Odds: Life‑Saving Foot Surgery Followed by a Baby Boom

Masaka, a 15‑year‑old roloway monkey living at Chester Zoo, was in a pretty grim spot last summer. A golf‑ball‑sized lump had taken over most of her foot, and veterinarians feared amputation was inevitable.

Enter a team of specialists from the University of Liverpool’s Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Together with zoo vets they performed a painstaking operation, carving out the mass while doing everything they could to preserve the toes. It was, frankly, a first‑of‑its‑kind procedure for a roloway monkey, and the surgeons were a little nervous.

“It was the last chance to save Masaka’s foot before we had to amputate,” recalls Rachel Burrow, the vet who helped with the CT scan and the surgery. “I usually work with dogs and cats, so handling a primate was a real privilege.” The operation succeeded – Masaka kept all but one toe and, within weeks, was hopping around the enclosure as if nothing had happened.

Fast‑forward a few months and the story took an even brighter turn. Masaka gave birth to a tiny daughter she named Lagertha – a nod to the fierce Viking queen. The newborn is already showing a mischievous sparkle that mirrors her mother’s personality.

“She’s an experienced mum and is parenting magnificently,” says Zoe Edwards, the primate keeper. “If we’d lost the foot, we’d have been worried whether she could hold and care for her baby.” Thanks to the healed foot, Masaka is able to cling, carry and groom her infant without issue.

Lagertha isn’t just any baby; she’s the third offspring of Masaka and a precious addition to a species that numbers fewer than two thousand in the wild. Roloway monkeys inhabit the forests of Ghana and Ivory Coast, where habitat loss and poaching have driven them to the brink of extinction.

In Europe, Chester Zoo is one of only two UK facilities housing roloway monkeys, and the animals there are part of the European Endangered Species Programme. Each successful birth nudges the species a tiny step away from disappearing.

The mystery that started Masaka’s ordeal – a chronic foot infection likely sparked by an old thorn injury – finally got some answers after a CT scan in Liverpool. The zoo’s veterinary officer, Charlotte Bentley, recalls the logistical headache of transporting a monkey to a veterinary school, complete with anesthesia kits, meds and extra blankets.

“It’s not every day you take a monkey to vet school,” she jokes. “She’s been a trooper throughout, and we’re just grateful we could help.”

Now, with her foot healed and a new baby clinging to her side, Masaka serves as a living reminder that diligent veterinary care and coordinated breeding programs can make a real difference for critically endangered primates.