Adorable footage shows Staffordshire monkey forest’s newborn Barbary macaques clinging to mother

Conservationists are celebrating the arrival of four endangered Barbary macaques which have been born in the tree tops at the UK's only monkey forest.

The adorable African monkeys - usually native to Morocco and Algeria - arrived at Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire at the end of April.

Heart-warming photos show the bright-eyed new arrivals clinging to their mother in what is being hailed as a “small but important win" for the highly endangered species.

Over 50 per cent of wild Barbary macaque populations have declined over 40 years and fewer than 8,000 are thought to remain.

Head guide Anna Smith said: “It’s hard to describe how amazing baby season is. The Barbary macaque is a species that experiences challenging times in the wild. Being victims of the illegal pet trade, suffering habitat loss and experiencing wildfires has had a profound impact on their wild populations.

"Welcoming between 6-10 babies to the forest, who will go on to live remarkably similar days to their wild counterparts gives this species in jeopardy a powerful lifeline and is a small yet important victory for them.

"As we welcome four fresh bundles of joy to the woodland, we cannot wait to see who’s next to join the Monkey Forest family, with more babies expected to arrive soon.”

The woodland is home to 140 free roaming Barbary macaque monkeys and keepers say they are never 100 per cent sure whether a female could be pregnant.

Instead they "let nature take its course" and they usually mate in the winter before a gestation period of around five-and-a-half months.

A spokesperson for the forest added: "During late spring and early summertime, expecting female monkeys will head to their sleeping areas of the woodland and could at any time, emerge with a clinging bundle of joy, the following day.

"This is usually a lovely surprise for the monkey team who usually spot a new arrival on its first ever morning, when they enter the woodland to feed the groups their breakfast.

"Lucky visitors to the woodland might even spot a newborn that is just hours old, on the same day we confirm a birth, if they happen to enter the park on the same day as the birth.

"The Monkey Forest team are over the moon with yet another small but important win for the endangered species."