News2022-05-18T13:34:52+00:00

Latest news

Lovely Jub-ilee! 28 May – 5 June

We’re putting up the bunting for half term to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (and the school holidays – hurray!)

Pop along and join in the fun:

  • There’s a free activity booklet for the kids’, with a special Jubilee fun sheet with a trail – you might win a small treat if you can find the flags hidden around the Haven.
  • Xhabu’s Tearoom will be creating special Jubilee picnic boxes. We’ve got plenty of outside space for you to enjoy something from the tearoom or ice cream shack, or you can bring your own picnic.
  • Our award-winning Keeper Talks take place throughout the day. This is your chance to learn all about our awesome animals and how they came to be here.
  • And there’s our usual stamper trail plus the fun virtual banana trail if you download our free app.

Birthdays

We’ve got some extra celebrations throughout the week. A couple of our animals have birthdays coming up.

  • Thursday 2nd June – Jubilee the Marmoset is 10 years old (born at the Haven on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012!)

  • Sunday 5th June – Wheat  the Javan Langur is 16 years old

We like to make them a special cake and have a party.

New arrivals

  • Lilymae putting a meerkat into a van
  • Meerkat in a straw bed

More Meerkat mayhem

We’re excited to be welcoming three meerkats to their forever home at our sanctuary! The two boys, Del Boy and Rodney, are both 6 years old and renown trouble makers! Due to them not mixing within their previous group we were asked if we’d take care of them… and of course we said yes! Tanami is female and she turned 2 in February. She is such a sweet little lady and we are hopeful of pairing Tanami with Gibson, who would love a new friend.

Our Keepers, Lilymae & Jacob, went to collect the new arrivals and made sure they had a safe and comfortable journey. They’re all doing great and we look forward to introducing Del Boy, Rodney and Tanami to you at our Keeper Talks.

A big thank you to Chester Zoo, who offered to help us out and find a friend for Gibson! And the two boys have come from Greenacres Animal Park.

Welcome Rosa

This dear little marmoset was kept as a pet in an elderly gentleman’s front room, but after he passed away the family members contacted us and brought her to our Primate Rescue Centre as they had no idea how to care for her.

Rosa is currently in isolation and will be off show for the next few weeks until she has undergone a full vet check. We are unsure of how old Rosa is. She is sadly very underweight and suffering hair loss too. We have carried out a feacal check which shows she is full of worms, and we are currently treating her for this and monitoring her diet and behaviour.

Our isolation enclosures do have outside areas but as of yet, Rosa hasn’t dared to venture into the open, it’s all very scary out there! Many primates we rescue have never seen daylight before and venturing outside is such a daunting task which takes time. Rehabilitation is always a gradual process but also very rewarding and we’re hopeful she’ll gain her confidence very soon!

Eventually, we hope to pair Rosa up with one of our marmoset troops so she can further learn the natural behaviours of our little residents!

Rosa the Marmoset

Silver at the 2022 Charity Film Awards!

We’re celebrating bringing home silver at the 2022 Charity Film Awards. The awards ceremony for this prestigious event was held at the Odeon Leicester Square.

The annual Charity Film Awards is in its 5th year and attracts entries from hundreds of charities, from large organisations such as UNICEF and the British Heart Foundation, to smaller ones like Monkey Haven.

Ellie Wickes, grandaughter of founder, Don, said “We are absolutely thrilled to have won Silver in the People’s Choice Award and we can’t thank you enough for all your love and support in voting for our film.

Growing up alongside the Monkey Haven has been a real experience for me. Through highs and lows I have watched my grandad’s dreams turn into reality and followed the journey through 19 years of my life. It has been truly inspiring to witness my grandad’s passion of creating a ‘forever home’ for primates and animals in need, and furthermore my family’s dedication and determination in bringing it all to fruition. I felt it was important to create this short film of Monkey Haven’s journey as not only a testimony to years of hard work and commitment, but as a reminder of just how far we’ve come as a charity –providing us with a chance to reflect on our achievements, whilst highlighting the importance of our cause. This is my grandad’s legacy and I have loved sharing it with you all.”

Don Walser added “When Ellie suggested visiting the Island for a day and creating a short film for the Charity Film Awards, I was slightly apprehensive of how we would fit a twenty year story into a five minute film! But she captured the story of Monkey haven beautifully. It’s every grandad’s dream to reminisce and tell your life story to your grandchildren, and through Ellie’s creative eye she has enabled me to actually tell my story to everyone.  You don’t realise how far you have come until you take time to reflect and I’m enormously proud of our journey and how many animals we have been able to re-home at our sanctuary. A huge thank you to everyone who voted for our film – we are over the moon to  have won Silver in this category and we are eternally grateful for your support.”

Kelly Wickes,  manager of Monkey Haven, said “We were extremely proud of our film getting through to the finals but to actually win a Silver Award is amazing and a wonderful achievement for our charity.

It was such a special evening alongside some incredible charities, celebrating the wonderful work we all do through the power of film. I’m hugely proud of my daughter and my dad for creating this film. It’s a wonderful reflection of decades of hard work, and I would like to particularly thank my amazing team at the Haven who go above and beyond to ensure our animals have the best love and care possible.”

A huge thank you to everyone that voted for us!

Outside the Odeon, Leicester Square

Welcome to LOVE WEEK (Feb half term) 11th – 27th February

The Haven’s doors open on Friday 11 February for the new season! And we’re kicking off with our ‘LOVE WEEK’ half term entertainment – to celebrate half term (hurray, no school), Valentine’s Day, the arrival of our newest rescued residents and to share our love of animals.

First let’s introduce you to our newest residents, Taabo and Imara. They are Diana monkeys who have found their forever home at the Haven. Eight-year-old Taabo is a cheeky and adventurous chap who likes to look after his female companion Imara, who is a little calm and shy.

The Dianas are endangered species and both have travelled from the Netherlands where they were part of the European Endangered Species Programme.

We’ve also welcomed two Great Grey Owls to our aviaries, Nutmeg and Coco. So pop along to say hello, they are absolutely stunning.

As well as our regular keeper talks, visitors will get the chance to speak to other animal charities such as the Wildlife Trust, RSPCA and the Donkey Sanctuary, who we’ve invited to pop in and share some love. The dates for your diary are:

  • Monday 14th – Cats Protection

  • Tuesday 15th – RSPCA

  • Wednesday 16th – Butterfly & Bird Conservation

  • Thursday 17th – Friends of the Animals

  • Friday 18th – Donkey Sanctuary

  • Saturday 19th – Animal Healing + Wildlife Trust

  • Sunday 20th – Wildlife Trust

  • Monday 21st – Friends of the Animals

  • Tuesday 22nd – RSPCA

  • Wednesday 23rd – Butterfly & Bird Conservation

  • Thursday 24th – Cats Protection

  • Friday 25th – Animal Healing

  • Saturday 26th – Wildlife Trust

  • Sunday 27th – Wildlife Trust

There are Kids’ activity sheets and a love heart trail (you can win a treat), plus plenty of opportunities to get up close to some of the animals, including meeting the owls and seeing the mini beasts in the Reptile Lodge.

We can’t wait to see you!

Halloween at the Haven

Join us this half term for some Halloween fun at the Haven!

Our primate rescue centre will be getting into the spirit of Halloween from the 16th-31st October and we’d love for you to join us!  There will be lots going on, including a kids’ ghost hunt treat trail and the opportunity to meet our minibeasts, rescue snakes and spiders! Plus join us at noon on the following dates and help us celebrate some very special birthdays. Our primates love a sing-song and it’s great fun watching them open their presents

  • Lin, the Capuchin: Saturday 23rd October

  • Bog, the Siamang: Thursday 28th October

  • Bono, the Müellers gibbon: Saturday 30th October

  • Pumpkin the Capuchin’s 1st birthday: Sunday 31st October

Our award-winning keeper talks run throughout the day and you’ll be able to watch the monkeys and meerkats delve for treats in the pumpkins. You can also get up close to some rescue owls.  Although owls are associated with Halloween they are not scary at all and you can find out more about the wonderful birds of prey we care for at the sanctuary, including little Oakley, our latest rescue.

There will be tasty treats in our tea room and remember to take advantage of the free seven day return for double the fun!

Happy Halloween and hope to see you soon x

We got a gold gong at the Red Funnel awards!

We are ‘ferry happy’ to announce that Monkey Haven has won TWO gorgeous gongs in the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards!

Earlier this year, around 50,000 staff and customers voted, a short list was drawn up, and then a panel of judges made the final pick. We fended off tough competition to scoop the following accolades:

BEST SMALL ATTRACTION 2019/2020 (GOLD).

BEST GREEN BUSINESS 2019/2020 (BRONZE).

“These awards mean a huge amount to us, because they were voted for by YOU”, says Monkey Haven’s founder, Don Walser. “We’re so happy that visitors love coming here, and it also means a lot that our efforts to protect and preserve the environment are being recognised. This has given us a lovely boost, after what can only be described as a terrible year. Thank you, everyone. We can’t wait to welcome you all back, as soon as we can.”

Monkey Haven is also proud to be one of Red Funnel’s Charities of the Year. Face masks are being sold on the ferries, with 100% of the profits being split between us, and another local charity, Daisy Chains IW.

Says Don: “We’re very grateful to Red Funnel for having us on board as one of their Charities of the Year! Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for plain sailing next year.”

To see the full list of award winners, please click here.

WOW! We’re in the top 10% of attractions worldwide!

Our primate rescue centre on the Isle of Wight has been voted as being in the top 10% of attractions WORLDWIDE!! “We’re so happy, we’re literally jumping for joy!” says Head Keeper Lisa Walser.

We’ve just had the official news from TripAdvisor and now we’re the proud recipients of a highly sought after Travellers’ Choice 2020 Award!!  This is based on all the lovely reviews and ratings that we’ve received from our wonderful visitors on TripAdvisor’s website. We’re already in TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame, and the ‘No 1 Thing to do on the Isle of Wight’ – and the new award has given our primate rescue centre an extra big hug from you all.

“Thank you to everyone who supports us by visiting our animal sanctuary, and we’re so appreciative of your reviews. We strive to give everyone a wonderful time and love hearing about your visits and any suggestions for improvements. This is a happy and safe place to be, so come and visit us soon and meet our rescued animals… and don’t forget to leave your review afterwards on TripAdvisor!” says Founder Don Walser.

Travellers' Choice 2020 logo
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