The monkeys at Wellington
Zoo are proving to be prime mates; with not one, not two, not three, but four monkey
births last week. The first Bolivian
Squirrel Monkey was born at the Zoo on Monday, followed by a second on
Thursday; while the first set of Pygmy Marmoset twins in New Zealand were
born to Picchu the Pygmy Marmoset on Wednesday night.
“The babies are just
booming here at the Zoo,” shared Collections Development Manager, Simon Eyre. “We’re really proud of the contributions we
are making to the regional breeding programme.”
The tiny Pygmy Marmoset twins
and beautiful Bolivian Squirrel Monkey babies are being well cared for by their
respective parents.
“It is great news for us,” shared
Primate Keeper, Jacqui Hooper. “As each
of these mothers has seen how to raise babies in the past, we know the babies
are off to a good start.”
“These babies help our visitors
to make a very personal connection with nature,” Jacqui explained. “Having four newborns to come and see is
really exciting!”
The Pygmy Marmoset twins
can be seen in the Mojo Café Pygmy Marmoset exhibit – clinging to their father
Machu and older brother Cuzco,
who are tasked with the heavy lifting duties, while mother Picchu will be in
charge of feeding. Big sister, Gemini,
is also very interested getting to know her new siblings.
Visitors who are keen to
see the Bolivian Squirrel Monkey babies are already able to see the newborns
being carried around by their mothers at the River Trail Aviary – and can ask
the Keepers all about it at the Squirrel Monkey talk at 3.30pm held every day at
the Zoo.
For more pictures, check out our Facebook album here.