I really didn’t want to visit the Monkey Haven when we visited the Isle of Wight for a week recently because I thought it would make me a little bit sad (and very angry) to see the animals that had been so badly neglected before being rescued and re-homed to their new home.
I was talked into it by Master Frugal though who loves monkeys and wanted to see them regardless of their sad stories! I’m so pleased he talked me into going though as I loved it almost as much as he did.
It’s not just monkey’s at Monkey Haven though, the first animals we saw when we walked in were the cheeky Meerkats who have all been rescued from the cruel pet trade. These days they live in a spacious, clean and friendly environment but they used to be kept in tiny cages until they were rescued.
I don’t know what it is about Meerkats but they never fail to make me smile and the fact that these little fellas are living their happy ending made me smile even more than usual!
Next we moved on to the monkeys who are clearly well looked after and all very happy.
I read some awful stories about the start that some of these monkeys had to their lives – everything from being bullied by other monkeys to some even being chained up on a beach so tourists could have their photo taken with a monkey. The sad stories did make me sad and one or two gave me a lump in my throat but when I saw how much these little fellas were loving life now in their new home, I couldn’t help but be happy for them.
Take the monkey who used to be chained up for tourist photos for example, he’s now got a wife and kids and judging by how much fun he was having playing with his newest arrival, he wasn’t thinking about the scars around his neck anymore.
I’m not a huge fan of zoos in general as I prefer animals in their natural habitats but the Monkey Haven is definitely somewhere that I would recommend because it’s amazing to see these animals being so well loved and cared for after the sadness they’ve experienced.
There’s also some rescued birds of prey and other animals there too that have either been re-homed there for various reasons or are simply being card for until they can be released into the wild again.
As well as the animals, there’s a great little play park for the younger ones, a cafe, a gift shop and an ice cream stall with some picnic tables near to the play park. There’s even a man carving owls out of branches which Master Frugal was fascinated by!
It costs something like £32 for a family of four to get in, we paid £38 as there was five of us but if you keep your ticket you can go back again anytime in the next seven days. It started raining while we were still looking around so we went back again the following morning when the sun came back out.
I apologise for the poor photos but I left my phone and camera in the car when we went in the first time as it was raining and when we went back the following day, I found some pretty flowers in lots of bright colours so I spent all my time playing with my camera in peace while everyone looked around what we’d missed the day before!
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