TWO rare and lovelorn South American monkeys have been stolen from a North- East farm.

The Goeldi monkeys, named George and Mildred, were sent to Tweddle Animal Farm, in Blackhall Colliery, east Durham, nine months ago to breed.

But the would-be parents were stolen in the early hours of yesterday.

The small, black monkeys, thought to be worth about £4,000 in total, are believed to be one of only ten breeding pairs in the UK.

Farm owner Denise Wayman said: “I honestly don’t know why people would steal them. I don’t know if they might have been stolen to order.

“They’re not cute and cuddly pets. I would just say: please return them.

Maybe get a rabbit instead.”

Mrs Wayman, who was the first to spot the monkeys missing when she arrived for work yesterday, has put up a reward of £1,000 for information leading to their safe return.

The animals, which are both about three-years-old, were brought to the North-East from a breeding sanctuary, in Suffolk.

They lived in a 20ft by 10ft enclosure with a heated nest in one corner.

Mrs Wayman became concerned for their welfare when she found the farm cafe had been broken into.

“We found the pen was empty. They had cut through the fence with bolt clippers.

We are devastated.”

The monkeys are vulnerable and police say if they don’t get the care they need, they could come to serious harm. It is thought they were taken as they slept.

The intruders also made off with walkie-talkie radios and chargers and a £50 cash float.

When the money was stolen, the cafe till printed a receipt timed at 3.30am.

It is the second time in a month criminals have struck at the animal farm. In late May, two African grey parrots named Mork and Mindy, worth about £1,000 each, were stolen.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the monkeys is asked to call Peterlee police on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.

On endangered species list

GOELDI monkeys live in South America, most commonly in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

They are black or black-brown, growing up to nine inches long, with tails measuring up to 12in.

Now an endangered species, they were first described in 1904 and remain the only species in the genus callimico, leading to them being referred to as “callimicos”.

Females reach sexual maturity at eight-and-a-half months old, have a gestation period of 140 to 180 days and can give birth twice a year.

They eat fruit, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs and snakes, and in dry times feed on fungi.

They live in groups of about six, staying close to each other almost all the time and communicating through high-pitched calls.

Also known as Goeldi’s marmosets, they are named after the Swiss naturalist Emil August Goeldi, best known for his descriptions of exotic Brazilian species.