s Apenheul Primate Park was conceptualised by photographer
Wim Mager in the 1960s, when it was legal for private citizens to own
monkeys. Mager, who himself had several monkeys as pets, believed both humans and primates would benefit from housing the animals in a more natural forest-like environment. He created the apen-heul (from apen meaning monkeys, and heul, an old Dutch word for a safe haven). Apenheul Primate Park opened in 1971 as a small but revolutionary park housing wool-monkeys and other species. It is located in the nature park of Berg en Bos (Mountain and Wood) and proved popular with visitors and primatologists alike, leading to subsequent expansions. In 1976,
gorillas were introduced to Apenheul Primate Park, with the first gorilla baby being born three years later. This was only the second healthy baby that was born in captivity in the
Netherlands and the third in the entire world. The baby was raised by its own mother, which remains a rare event. A major setback occurred in 1981 when the cabin in which Apenheul Primate Park burned to the ground, killing 46 monkeys. The building was subsequently replaced. ==See also==