The nine animals faced a bleak future after the animal centre in Northern Ireland they had been living in shut down.

An earlier attempt to save them and give the nine baboons - including a four-month-old baby called Tiny - a new home was hampered by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The sanctuary is also home to chimpanzees

But now a chimp sanctuary in the Swansea Valley is preparing to welcome the animals.

Cefn-yr-Erw centre owner Graham Garen said the monkeys were assured a good life in their new home.

"They'll put on a lot of weight and they'll get really sociable, just from seeing people," he said.

"They've only had their own kind for company for so long. They'll have a good life now - they'll get attention all day long."

The baboons have been kept in far from ideal conditions since the closure of the Causeway Safari Park in County Antrim eight years ago.

Most of the other animals at the zoo were given new homes, but the small colony of baboons proved more difficult.

The baboons need secure and specially-built enclosures, which are costly to build and run.

Sedated

But now the owners of the Cefn yr Erw chimp sanctuary, assisted by two Welsh vets, have managed to arrange for the animals' move.

They had to be darted and sedated so they could be put into crates and flown over to Wales.

They were due to arrive at Cefn yr Erw on Tuesday morning, where the group, which includes a four-month-old baby called Tiny are waking up in their new surroundings.

Cefn-yr-Erw, located on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, is home to a range of primates and rare breeds.