AssetID: 55569487
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Endangered monkey gives birth at Chester Zoo just months after undergoing pioneering surgery
Caption: Endangered monkey gives birth at Chester Zoo just months after undergoing pioneering surgery. A critically endangered monkey has become a mum just months after undergoing pioneering surgery that saved her leg from amputation. Masaya, a 15-year-old roloway monkey at Chester Zoo, had a golf-ball-sized mass removed from her foot last summer in a complex operation carried out jointly by zoo vets and surgeons from the University of Liverpool's Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Despite finding no previous examples of the procedure on roloway monkeys, the team successfully conducted surgery to save all but one of her toes. Now, she has given birth to little Lagertha, who primate experts at the zoo say is already showing signs of her mother's indomitable spirit. Zoe Edwards, primate keeper at Chester Zoo, said: “Masaya is a very experienced mum and she's parenting magnificently.” “Lagertha is only a few weeks old and is very dinky, but already curious about the roloway monkey habitat and inquisitive about us.” The new arrival is Masaya's third daughter, and her birth marks a significant moment for the species. Masaya and Lagertha, who is named after a Viking queen, can be seen alongside four other monkeys at Chester Zoo.
Keywords: Natural World,endangered,monkey,birth,Chester Zoo,pioneering,surgery,mum,leg,amputation,roloway monkey,vets,surgeons,University of Liverpool,Small Animal Teaching Hospital,animals,habitat,parenting,species,monkeys
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