Baby monkey named after 'dedicated' volunteer

A zoo in Devon has named a baby monkey after one of its volunteers who recently died.

Nigel Edwards, who died in May, had been a volunteer at the Shaldon Wildlife Trust for more than 20 years.

A baby red titi monkey, born in January, has been named Nigel in his memory.

Zoo Director, Zak Showell, said naming a baby animal after Mr Edwards was the "least they could do" to honour his "years of dedication".

The zoo is a charitable trust which works towards the long-term survival of animals that are at risk of extinction in their natural habitats.

Mr Edwards' role as a volunteer saw him welcome visitors at the front desk.

"In those 20 years Nigel served tens if not hundreds of thousands of visitors to the zoo" said Mr Showell.

He added: "Nigel turned up armed with a box of chocolates every Saturday morning to keep the rest of the volunteers going".

Nigel the red titi monkey is Cupid and Joey's eighth offspring.

"He’s just at that age where he’s starting to come off mum and dad's back and explore the environment on his own

"He’s a little joy to watch" said Mr Showell.

The zoo has more than 40 volunteers who help in various roles.

Mr Showell said: “Given the years of dedication to the charity the least we could do is name one of our baby animals after Nigel.

"Nigel was also an incredibly keen and apt horticulturist, and we will be planting a camellia, one of his favourite plants, in the zoo in his honour soon."

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