Woolly monkey born at sanctuary

Dr Alison Cronin is hand-rearing the baby woolly monkey Diego

A rare woolly monkey has been born at a Dorset animal sanctuary as part of an endangered species breeding programme.

The primate, named Diego, was born at Monkey World at Wareham and is being hand-reared as he was unable to suckle from his mother.

Dr Alison Cronin, the sanctuary director, said the new arrival, who weighs 580gms (1.2lbs) and eats soft fruit, was doing well.

A sanctuary spokeswoman said there were only 86 woolly monkeys in captivity.

The woolly monkeys are bred as part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), along with the sanctuary's resident golden-cheeked gibbons and orang-utans.