Rare Tamarins born at Colchester Zoo!
Endangered Twin pied tamarin twins have been born at Colchester Zoo on the 27th May! The Keepers cannot yet tell the sex of the youngsters, but the twins have been born to mum, Grace and Dad, Will. Grace was born in January 2007 and came to Colchester Zoo in November 2009 from Zoo Parc de Beauval in France, with Will being born in March 2001 and arriving at Colchester Zoo in July 2008 from Montreal Zoo, Canada.
The pied tamarin is notoriously hard to breed as it is highly sensitive and easily prone to environmental stress causing successful breeding to be extremely difficult. Colchester Zoo is therefore delighted to have had a successful breeding take place with the birth of the twins, and to make such an important contribution to the sustained existence of this endangered species.
Zoological Director, Anthony Tropeano, said, “We are absolutely delighted that all the hard work to bring Will and Grace together as part of this international breeding programme has resulted in the birth of these twins. This species is notoriously difficult to breed and only a handful of zoos have had success within the UK”.
