Zoo keeper talks to monkeys in rainforest

Abigail Baird, 23, spent two months surveying the population of the endangered brown-headed monkeys.

She also used loudspeakers to play spider monkey calls into the rainforest and recorded the number of responses.

Abigail, who works at Drusillas Park near Alfriston, slept in a hammock in the rainforests and hacked at the bush with a machete to get close to the animals.

She said: 'It was an amazing experience and one I shall never forget.

'I am extremely grateful to Primate Conservation International and the Association for British Wild Animal Keepers who funded my trip.

'It feels really good to have contributed to something so important.'

During her stay, the monkey enthusiast worked from the high altitude region of Los Cedros and moved on to surrounding lowland areas.

Spider monkeys are known to be one of the largest species of monkey in Ecuador.

They take their name from the spider-like appearance of their long limbs and tail.

In the wild, their existence is threatened mainly due to deforestation of their habitat, copper mining and hunting.

The PRIMENET project, co-ordinated by Sussex University, works to determine monkey populations in data deficient areas.

This was the first time this particular type of research was carried out in the area.

Abigail has worked at Drusillas since graduating from Hadlow Agricultural College in 2004 after completing an animal science degree.

She is currently in the final year of Masters in Primate Conservation and her experience will form part of her thesis.