About
We are a place with a unique and perhaps different approach from most zoos.
Our main emphasis is on the welfare of the animals.
With us, what you see is what you get.
There is no overnight closure in crates. Some of the monkeys have houses (for protection from the cold, with radiators), and they are free to choose to enter them or not.
The development of the forest is done for the sake of the animals. Your investment in a ticket to the Monkey Forest is an investment in the animals' welfare.
Our infrastructure starts from the caretakers observation of our animals. Observing their behavior allows us to better understand what changes, developments, additions or removals are necessary in their living spaces. Therefore, you will see that our plots are a kind of patchwork, connected by bridges and filled with lots of enrichment for the animals.
We have a team of skilled instructors at your service, to explain and answer your questions. It is important for us to host you and to allow you to enjoy a "different" experience with us, such as a trip abroad. We are also busy creating quiet spaces and seating areas for you to have space to be together.
For the kids we have a sandbox and books by the snackbar.
Some history about the place…
The Monkey Forest began as a petting zoo for the children of Yodfat in the 1970s. At that time, the ancestors of our squirrel monkeys came from a habitat in Belgium and the place was named "Monkey Forest" after them.
Even then in the 70s our attitude was that animals are an integral part of our world and that we are an integral part of their world. Our belief is that our destinies are intertwined and that we should treat them as partners in the journey of our lives and not as our property. The understanding that living in cages is not the right approach to education for respect and love for nature, so the first squirrel monkeys that came to us were given a large forest plot as their territory.
Today you will meet squirrel monkeys all over the forest busy with their lives and friendly to the visitors.
At night, everyone gathers back to their plot.
In 1990 the Monkey Forest became an educational and tourist friendly animal shelter. Which caused us to deepen our ties with the animals and our approach of a relationship of respect and love with the monkeys and other animals in the forest.
The basis of our approach is that all animals are on one level or another like us, feeling humans, they feel, fear, love, get angry and live in very complex social structures that we can not really understand. Every animal and plant on our planet has a significant role to play in maintaining ecological balance. They are important to our world and deserve to live (when they are not in nature) as close as possible to natural conditions.
This is the spirit in which we treat all the animals in the monkey forest and ask you, the visitors, to respect this.
The monkeys are free to move around the entire forest as they wish.
During your visit, you may or may not meet the troop of monkeys in their designated territory..
In any case, there will be guides who will guide you to where they are.
We know it's hard ... but we must not pet the monkeys or try to catch them or touch them in any way.
Monkeys, on the other hand, are allowed to come to you, to sit on your lap or on your shoulder or head as they wish.
The monkeys must not be fed by hand at all.
The monkeys are wild animals and not a pet. Therefore we do not accustom them to eating by hand and do not manipulate them to approach.
Squirrel monkeys can only be fed on caterpillars sold locally.
The caterpillars are placed for the monkeys on the ground, just as they would look for caterpillars on the ground of the rainforests.
Please respect the instructions and obey the instructors
Thanks in advance for your cooperation!
The Yodfat Monkey Forest team
We invite you, nature lovers and animals, to come, walk leisurely along the forest paths, meet the animals that live in it, without compromising the trust created with the animals, their safety and of course it is very important to preserve and not harm the vegetation.
But wait, what animals do we have??
Squirrel monkeys, macaque monkeys, Green Guenon monkeys, Lemurs, capuchin monkeys, goats, sheep, alpacas,
parrots, waterfowl, Emu, ferrets, deer, Israeli turtles, sudanese turtles, snakes and other animals that you can discover during your visit here.
Because we are a sanctuary for animals, there are always surprises with animals that are added or released into nature.
When you arrive, please remember that the monkey forest is the home of the animals and you, dear visitors, the guests in their home
