Posted April 16, 2021 in News
Double Trouble!
On Tuesday 9th March, our Animal Care Team welcomed the arrival of two tiny Golden Lion Tamarins to mum, Satine, and Dad, Sooty. This is the pair’s second set of twins after welcoming their first offspring in together in 2020.
Mum Satine has once again been a great mother to her young, with attentive Dad Sooty also lending a hand! Older siblings, Skylar and Sammie, have also been showing an interest in their new family members with gentle sniffs and touching and with approval from mum, older sibling Skylar has also been seen carrying one of the little ones!
Dad Sooty was born here at Colchester Zoo on 18th February 2013, whilst our female, Satine, and was born at La Palmyre Zoo in France on 18th June 2017. Satine joined Sooty in July 2019 and the pair have since formed a strong bond. Like all the tamarins, they live in monogamous pairs which has resulted in multiple births from the couple.
The adorable twins started out very light in colour, almost blonde but have darkened since birth, looking more like their parents every day, silky and golden! Once the new arrivals are fully grown, they will still only reach up to 40cm in length and weigh a tiny 25oz!
Our young family currently share their home with two Linne’s two-toed sloths. Due to the calm nature of sloths, they show very little interest in the new arrivals making them the perfect house mates.
Our Animal Care Team are waiting until the pair have been sexed to name them.
Sadly, this species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and so not only is this news great for Colchester Zoo but also for the conservation of their species.
Our Golden Lion tamarin family can be seen at our Worlds Apart exhibit.
