Frequently Asked Questions

If you have lost your season ticket, please contact the adoptions office (Tel: 01929 401012). We can re-issue season tickets upon payment of £10 administration fee.

Monkey World prefers card payments and we do not hold cash floats on site. While we can accept cash, we cannot give change so please be prepared to pay in exact amounts. You can of course donate any change to us and we will add this to the Ape Rescue Trust to support primate rescue and rehabilitation.

By reducing the amount of cash on site we have reduced our overheads on expensive cash pick ups and so have more funds available to the primates, where our priority always lies. We hope you can understand this decision.

Details of forthcoming events can be found on the Events page by clicking here.  Events are also detailed in the Ape Rescue Chronicle newsletter sent to all our primates’ adoptive parents. Adoptive parents are also eligible for our charity events. Please click here for more details.

We do not allow visitors to touch or handle any of the primates. There are a number of reasons for this. Most of the primates here at Monkey World have been rescued and now live in family groups. We encourage our monkeys and apes to interact with each other, and therefore, we do not allow visitors to disrupt them. Furthermore, primates can catch the same viruses as humans (e.g. colds and flu), which can be potentially dangerous to them, so limiting the number of people they come into contact with helps to ensure their good health. As the majority of our monkeys and apes are rescued, we also feel that it is important to provide them with reliable, familiar faces that they can trust, and not expect them to accept “strangers” in their home. We also have to comply with Health and Safety Regulations as most of our primates are dangerous wild animals.

Our closest airport is Bournemouth which is about 25 miles away from the park (www.bournemouthairport.com). From here you can either take a taxi or bus to Bournemouth train station and then the train directly to Wool station.

Southampton Airport is about 50 miles from Monkey World. Trains run directly from Southampton Airport Parkway to Wool.

The nearest public transport link to Monkey World is via Wool train station, which is approximately 1.5 miles away. There are usually taxis available at Wool station to complete your journey to the park. During the summer months, First Bus run a service direct to the park.

The park has a large grass & hard standing car park which is free to visitors. There is designated disabled parking spaces, a drop-off area and a free coach parking area also.

Although we rely heavily on donations to continue to do our work, Monkey World itself is not a registered charity.

Currently, all of the money that we receive through donations and our adoption scheme goes into our Ape Rescue Trust, which is a 100% fund so that all of the money is used solely for the rescue and rehabilitation of primates and no administration costs are removed.

However, Monkey World has founded two affiliated charities and continues to support them both:

• The Jim Cronin Memorial Fund for Primate Conservation and Welfare (registered charity number 1126939) was established after Jim sadly passed away in 2007.
• EAST – the Endangered Asian Species Trust – (registered charity number 1115350)  supports our rescue, rehabilitation and release programs in Dao Tien in Vietnam.

Although we are not a registered charity, we do rely entirely on entrance fees, donations and our adoption scheme to fund our work. We have set up the Ape Rescue Trust Fund which is our 100% fund and functions like a charity. All money that we receive through adoptions or donations goes straight into this fund and is used solely for the rescue and rehabilitation of primates. Donations can be made to the fund by cheque, standing order (please contact the administration office for details) or by donations made when you visit the park.

We are also always very grateful for all types of fresh fruit and vegetables, strands of garlic, seeds, nuts pulses, heavy duty dog toys, or small-medium sized cane baskets for our small monkeys to nest in. A detailed list is available on the Donations Page

If you bring donations to the park with you, please leave them at the main entrance gate for collection. Our Primate Care Team will collect them during quieter periods of the day and distribute them to the sections required. Sometimes, due to animal care requirements, this cannot take place until later in the day.

If you’d like to donate, but cannot get to the park, we have an Amazon Wishlist full of useful items to help us care for the primates, which will be delivered directly to park!

We are always very grateful for all donations to help with our extensive food shopping bill!

Alison and Jeremy have very hectic schedules and are busy organising rescues or caring for our primates here at Monkey World so specific meetings cannot be arranged with them or any other staff. Due to the animal care requirements, it is very difficult for them to know for sure when they would be free.

However, when they are out and about in the park they are always happy to meet visitors and say hello.

In aid of the Jim Cornin Memorial Fund (registered charity number 1126939) and exclusively for Monkey World Adoptive Parents are two newly-refurbished flats available to rent in the heart of Wool, just one mile from Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre.  Click here for more information.

We cannot recommend alternative places to stay, however, we do have a list of other local accommodation on the Accommodation pages of our website. Please do also contact our local tourist information centres for further information:

www.visit-dorset.com
www.pooletourism.com
www.bournemouth.co.uk

As a policy, we will not give advice about setting up an animal centre or sanctuary. We would urge people not to consider this venture unless you already have plenty of experience in looking after and managing wild animals. If you do not already have experience the animals would probably have to suffer your learning curve. There is a huge amount to learn.

Fortunately, we have not come across many gorillas that have needed rescuing from the illegal pet or smuggling trades. Gorillas do not make such popular pets as chimpanzees and other primates. Also, as they are very rare, zoos are usually very keen to ‘snap up’ gorillas that need re-homing.

Should we come across any gorillas that do need rescuing, we would, of course, be very happy to take them on, as long as there was not a more suitable place for them to go (i.e. somewhere that already has gorillas). Hopefully, we will not have to rescue any of these magnificent creatures in the future.

Tickets are available both online and on the gate. When you book online you can save up to 10% off gate prices, and if park capacity is reached, visitors who have not prebooked online will not be permitted entry. For more info & to book, please click here.

Full ticket possibilities are listed on the Book Here page, once you select the time and date of your visit. This includes Blue Peter badge holders, carers acompanying a disabed visitor, and primate adoptive parents.

Discounts are offered for families, for 2 adults with EITHER 2 children or 2 seniors, OR a mix of children and seniors.  Single parent family tickets are also available, for 1 adult ticket and 2 children OR 2 seniors, or 1 child and 1 senior. Tickets booked online are up to 10% cheaper than those bought on the gate.

We do not offer discounts for Blue Light card holders, or military IDs. We believe our prices are reasonable and represent excellent value for money. All funds help us continue our rescue & rehabiltation work.

We offer discounted entrance rates to groups of 10 or more people. Group entrance must be booked in advance through the administration office, otherwise, single entrance rates will apply. Please download a group booking form here, or contact the office by calling 01929 401003 or email admin@monkeyworld.org.

Please note: the administration office is open from 9.00 am until 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday only.

Visitors who require the support of an essential carer are offered free admission for one accompanying carer when they pay the full adult/child price. Supporting DLA / PIP documentation, Access Card with +1 symbol, or evidence of a blue badge will be required on entrance to the park.
For more information on Entrance prices please click here.

For full accessibility guide, please click here.

For clarity, you can also contact the main office on 01929 462537 / email apes@monkeyworld.org and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Gift entrance tickets, tour vouchers and ‘Monkey Money’ vouchers can be purchased in advance by phoning the administration office (01929 462537 option 3). Tickets are made valid for up to one year from date of purchase. Once payment has been received, tickets will be sent out as soon as possible to the requested address.

We have over 260 primates here at the park, all of whom have access to both their indoor and outdoor enclosures throughout the day, unless we have to bring them indoors due to safety reasons. We have viewing areas for our visitors to watch the primates at all of our enclosures, with most having both indoor and outdoor windows. The activity and location of the primates depends entirely on the moods of the individuals, and if the primates decide to have privacy in the off-show areas, we respect their decision and they will be unable to be seen by the public. This is our rescued primates’ home and safe haven, and while they can be viewed by the public, they are not an exhibition.

We have Keeper Q&As throughout the afternoon (12.30 pm until 3 pm) during which a scatter feed is normally given to the primates. These are a great opportunity to learn about the primates that we have here at the park, and the work that we do. We cannot offer refunds for entrance to the park unless special circumstances are agreed by the Directors.

Many viewing windows are under cover, but the majority of the park is outdoors, therefore, we do advise visitors to bring wet weather clothing at all times.

Tickets can be amended up to 72 hours prior to visit date upon payment of a £5 admin fee. You will need to contact the administration office on 01929 462537 9opt 3) to do so. The park is outside, so we recommend dressing for the weather. Animal care never stops so the park will be open unless it is unsafe to do so.

Most enclosures have both outside and indoor viewing windows, and identifying posters around the windows to help you recognise your adopted primate. The daily free Keeper Talks are also a great time to spot your adopted primate as Primate Care Staff will be happy to point out your primate, or other individuals. However, all the primates have access to both their indoor and outdoor enclosures throughout the day, unless we have to bring them indoors due to safety reasons. The activity and location of the primates depends entirely on the moods of the individuals. The enclosures are purposely designed with off-show areas both inside and outside, so our rescued primates can enjoy privacy if they choose.

Due to veterinary care, enclosure maintenance, introductions after rescues and other animal management, there may be times when your chosen primate is unavailable to be seen without prior notice, although we will endeavour to update our website and/or social media if appropriate.

Although we do really appreciate offers of help, due to the nature of our work, we are unable to take on volunteers or work-experience students to work directly with our primates for periods of less than 9 months. Almost all of our monkeys and apes have been rescued and need careful management and steady routine in order to encourage their rehabilitation. Therefore, we generally only take on experienced wild animal keepers.

There are many ways to get started working with animals. The most important advice we can give anyone who is keen to work with primates, or other wild animals, is to get as much experience as possible. We generally look for keepers who have plenty of experience in looking after and managing wild animals. Many zoos and wildlife parks take on volunteers either as a block placement or on a regular basis.

Educationally, there is no single option. However, biology, animal behaviour, physical anthropology or veterinary courses are a good place to start.

Please make detailed notes of where and when you saw the monkey or ape, including the exact location – street names and/or shop names will help us to find the primate. If possible, a photo of the monkey or ape would be very helpful to us, but do not get yourself into trouble, and try not to pay for the photos as it only encourages the trade. Please forward this information to Monkey World either by post, email, or by completing our online form.

Dogs and other pets are not permitted into the park. Our rescued and endangered primates become very upset and agitated by dogs, and Monkey World is their home and safe haven so we do not allow dogs in the park.  However we do accept Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs and Medical Alert Dogs, with prior notification only by calling the office on 01929 462537 (Mon-Fri) or 01929 401012 (weekends) and on production of their ID book and veterinary vaccination records.  In the interest of animal welfare, please refrain from leaving pets in your vehicle during your visit.  We reserve the right to contact any relevant authority if we feel that an animal left in a vehicle in our car park is suffering or distressed in any way.

If alternative arrangements can be made this would probably be best. There are local kennels who can provide day boarding, such as Margaret Green.

There are no lockers or storage areas at the park. You can exit the park to retrieve items from your car, after getting your hand stamped at the gift shop, but you may need to queue again to re-enter the park.

We produce three issues of the ARC per year: the Spring, Summer and Winter editions. We do our best to send these out as quickly as we can, however, rescues and events around the park do sometimes delay us in producing the Chronicles on time.

Although we require the ‘adoptive parent’s’ name and address for our records in order to send them the Ape Rescue Chronicle, you can arrange for the adoption pack to be sent elsewhere initially. Once you have filled in the adoption details and provided your payment details, you will be asked what address you would like the adoption pack and yearly renewal letter to be sent to.

We process adoptions according to their start date and we will do our best to ensure that adoptions are received prior to the start date. If the specified delivery address is different to the address of the recipient we will process and send out the adoption as soon as we can.

If the adoption pack is to be sent directly to the ‘adopter’ we will hold on to the pack and send it out so that it arrives as close to the start date as possible.

Christmas posting dates will be announced on the adoption page near the time.

This refers to the name of the primate that you would like to adopt. You can adopt any of the primates that we have here at the park. Our chimpanzees, orang-utans, gibbons are adopted as individuals, and the capuchin monkeys, smaller monkeys and lemurs are adopted as groups.

Adoptions can be renewed online here by clicking on the “Renew an Adoption” button. You will need the adoptive parent surname, adoptive membership card number and adoptive parent postcode to allow you to renew. You can then amend which address the adoption pack, Ape Rescue Chronicles and the renewal letter are delivered to.

A postage charge is added to all adoptions that are sent out and so postage fees are higher when sending abroad.  This charge covers the inital pack, as well as the further 2 editions of the Ape Rescue Chronicle that are posted during the year of adoption.

The season ticket is valid for usage by the named recipient only. If the photo on the adoption record does not match the person using it, the season tickets will be confiscated at our entrance gate.

We may also ask for additional proof of ID on entrance.

Adoptions can be setup online via Adoptions, by post, or by calling 01929 401012.

If you would like us to send you a form to complete, please contact the office either by email or calling 01929 401012 with your full postal address and we will do so straight away.

This depends on the person that is adopting one of our primates. If the ‘adopter’ is an adult, then the cost of the adoption for the year is £37. For a child (up to 15 years old) or a senior citizen (65+) to adopt one of our primates the cost is £27 per year.

For more information, please see our Adoptions page or call 01929 401012.

If you have lost your season ticket, please contact the adoptions office (Tel: 01929 401012). We can re-issue season tickets upon payment of £10 administration fee.

In order to reduce plastic waste, we do not issue new cards upon renewal of your adoption, and your existing membership card will still be valid. If you have lost your membership card, we can re-issue it with payment of £10 administration fee. Please contact the Adoptions Office to organise this on 01929 401012.

We have photos on each adoption record, and the first time you visit using your pass (if you adopted online) you will be asked to have your photo taken. This ensures that the adoption season ticket is only used for the named adoptive parent. It also means that if you have forgotten your card we can still allow you entry.

Child adoptions will not require photos, and family adoptions will feature photos of the adults only.