
Trentham Monkey Forest welcomes three baby Barbary macaques
The 60-acre site is home to 140 Barbary macaques and staff had known for a few months that babies were on the way.The venue said: "Baby Barbary macaques are born with adorable pink faces, black fur and can usually be seen to be clinging tight to mum for love and support during their first hours on Earth."
Park Director Matt Lovatt said the sanctuary was now entering "baby season" and expected to see between six and 10 births a year.He said: "The new arrivals will be looked after by their fellow group members and start learning the fascinating Barbary macaque way of life from the very first day of their lives.""We can't wait to see who's next to be welcomed into the world, as we expect more babies to arrive very soon," he added.
Trentham Monkey Forest works with organisations that help protect the wild Barbary macaques in Morocco and Algeria. It said it aimed to raise awareness of the endangered status of the species.
Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on regulating cosmetic procedures: rogue operators must be tackled, but aren't the only problem
The enormous popularity of beauty treatments, including dermatological fillers and Botox injections, is not solely an issue for health regulators. Changing norms and aspirations about appearances, and the way that these are marketed mainly to women and girls, are a cultural and economic phenomenon that requires wider consideration. While attitudes to these procedures and aesthetics vary, many people – including some cosmetic surgeons – are concerned that younger women account for a growing share of a highly lucrative and growing market. The death last year of 33-year-old Alice Webb in Gloucestershire, after a non-surgical Brazilian butt lift, as well as multiple reports of injuries, and the deaths of at least 28 women who have travelled to Turkey for cosmetic treatments, have increased the pressure on ministers to tighten the law. Wes Streeting's announcement of new licence requirements for UK businesses, and tighter regulation of higher-risk treatments, is probably overdue. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute recently warned that untrained people have given cosmetic injections in public toilets and hotels. Altering the law in order to exclude such 'rogue operators' ought to make high streets and the internet – where many clinics advertise – safer. Talking about the risks, as the health secretary has been doing, and holding a consultation on proposed changes, may have the beneficial effect of raising awareness even before changes are introduced. But councils will need resources if they are to be expected to enforce new rules by issuing licences, checking premises and so on. As in many other areas of economic activity, the law on its own is unlikely to be enough. Mechanisms are needed to ensure that businesses comply. It is already illegal to administer Botox or dermal fillers to children in England – although, worryingly, it is still allowed in Wales and Scotland. Mr Streeting's announcement that rules regarding children will be tightened further is particularly welcome. Strenuous efforts should be made to place them off limits for the industry as a whole. The reported preoccupation of some children with anti-ageing products is not healthy and should be discouraged. Mr Streeting did not refer to the cost to the NHS if cosmetic procedures go wrong, when announcing plans to tighten the law. But Karin Smyth, one of his ministers, has raised this. And Prof Sir Stephen Powis, who was NHS England's national medical director until last month, made the same point specifically in relation to butt lifts – the cosmetic procedure with the highest death rate of all. Ministers should expect pushback even though many experts, including plastic surgeons, favour tighter rules. The pro-growth mood of the Treasury means proposals for new regulations are unlikely to be smiled upon there. The more restrictive approach being proposed for England will also do nothing to prevent surgical tourism and could even increase it, if tighter regulation of the domestic industry results in higher prices. The gap in safeguards that allows foreign cosmetic surgery providers to market directly to the public needs to be addressed separately, which the government has begun to recognise. There is no single or instant fix. But by cracking down on cowboy operators, ministers will send a message that appearance-altering injections and other invasive treatments must be treated seriously. They are a different order of activity from applying makeup or painting nails. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Met Police urged to drop facial scanning at Notting Hill Carnival
Civil liberty and anti-racism groups have called on the Metropolitan Police to drop plans to use live facial recognition (LFR) technology at this year's Notting Hill a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, 11 organisations described LFR as "a mass surveillance tool that treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects and has no place at one of London's biggest cultural celebrations".They said the decision to reintroduce the technology at Carnival was "deeply disappointing" and argued it could be "less accurate for women and people of colour".The Met Police says LFR is accurate and balanced across ethnicity and gender, and insists it will help keep people safe. The groups - which include Liberty, Big Brother Watch and the Runnymede Trust - highlighted an ongoing judicial review brought by Shaun Thompson, a black Londoner who says he was wrongly identified by the system and letter states: "There is no clear legal basis for your force's use of LFR. No law mentions facial recognition technology and Parliament has never considered or scrutinised its use."Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community, yet the [Metropolitan Police] is choosing to use a technology with a well-documented history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias." The letter also raised concerns over a 2023 National Physical Laboratory study, which found the NeoFace system used by the Met was less accurate for women and people of colour depending on the algorithm that has been study's authors found the system could show bias at lower thresholds, though at the higher settings the Met says it uses, performance was found to be equitable across ethnicity and thresholds are confidence levels the system uses to decide a match - lower ones flag more people but risk more mistakes and bias, while higher ones are stricter and more said there was no legal obligation for the force to avoid the lower thresholds, and argued policing resources would be better spent on safety measures at the Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, who is leading this year's policing operation at the carnival, said LFR had led to more than 1,000 arrests since the start of 2024 and that independent testing showed the system was "accurate and balanced with regard to ethnicity and gender" at the thresholds used by the Met. Notting Hill Carnival takes place next weekend and has previously attracted up to two million people. It has come under increased scrutiny after two people were murdered at last year's event. Mr Ward said the force had received the letter and would respond in due course."Carnival's growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day," he said."Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls."It is right that we make the best use of available technology to support officers to do their job more effectively."Mr Ward said the LFR cameras will be used on the approach to and from Carnival and not within the event boundaries. He said they will "help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets".BBC News has contacted the carnival's organisers for comment.


The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Better design could make new homes cooler
There are two main issues driving the problem of overheating in modern housing (Overheated homes: why UK housing is dangerously unprepared for impact of climate crisis, 10 August). First, in order to maximise profit, developers often do the bare minimum required by legislation, without any consideration of the building's performance in use over its lifespan. This desire for economy also often leads to the reduction of natural elements (such as tree planting in urban areas), which may otherwise assist in tempering heat buildup. Second, too often we seek to solve fundamental flaws in the building design with bolt-on solutions, when instead we should design for climate resilience from the outset. The move towards air conditioning as a response to overheating problems illustrates this. Even the new Part O building regulations – which cover ensuring that homes do not overheat – allow the use of machinery rather than requiring an adequately responsive building fabric. Design expertise from environmentally minded professionals such as chartered architectural technologists can help to overcome these problems without using energy-hungry machinery. Considering the orientation of the building, incorporating a natural ventilation strategy and utilising materials in the building's fabric that mitigate heat gain can greatly reduce the risk of overheating. But such principles are often disregarded in order to cut costs. The climatic situation we find ourselves in requires a shift in the very basics of building design. The knowledge is available. It just needs to be HalliganChartered Institute of Architectural Technologists