Monkey Forest As part of the regeneration, Trentham Monkey Forest, the first wildlife park of its kind in England, was opened in July 2005. It consists of of forest, which contain 140 Barbary macaques, wandering freely. There is a path through the forest along which visitors walk; there are no barriers between the forest and the path, although visitors are confined to the path, which has guides to ensure the safety of both the visitors and monkeys, and there is a fence around the forest. The park is one of four owned by the de Turckheim family; the other three are in Alsace, France (opened in 1969), in Lot, France (opened in 1974), and Affenberg Salem close to Bodensee, Germany (opened in 1976). The forest is open to visitors every day between April and October inclusive, and opens on weekends and school holidays in February, March and November. There are two groups of 70 macaques at the forest, which were originally from other parks in France and Germany and inhabit different parts of the forest. The oldest macaque is around 30 years old. All of the macaques are individually identified with a tattoo on their inner thigh. A number of the female macaques have been given contraceptive implants to limit the number of babies born at the site to around 5-15 per year. One aim of the forest is to increase awareness about the endangered species; it also aims to create and preserve a gene pool and to re-introduce groups of macaques into the wild. Already 591 macaques from the forest's three sister parks have been re-introduced to the wild at the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. The forest also has a conference venue. The forest supports research into the biology and social behaviour of the macaques at the park. See also Listed buildings in Swynnerton Notes References Further reading External links Official site Trentham Gardens Map Location Trentham Monkey Forest Trentham Gardens – History Guide Trentham Hall at Lost Heritage – a memorial to the lost houses of England Trentham Monkey Forest article and photos The first-ever Mountain Mayhem in the UK at Trentham ! British country houses destroyed in the 20th century Gardens by Capability Brown Tourist attractions in Stoke-on-Trent Former country houses in England Buildings and structures in Stoke-on-Trent Buildings and structures demolished in 1912 Country houses in Staffordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire Charles Barry buildings Structures