Chemnitz Zoo: Double offspring in the marmoset house
There are offspring to report from the marmoset house at Chemnitz Zoo - and there are two of them. Twin births are not a rarity among the pygmy marmosets, but the rule. There have been two new additions to the group since mid-April.
The young animals are born weighing around 15 grams, while adult pygmy marmosets weigh around 100 grams. This makes them the smallest representatives of the true monkeys. Within the order of primates, they are only undercut by the mouse lemurs, which, however, are classified as prosimians.
Pygmy marmosets are very social animals that can live together in groups of more than ten animals. They are led by a female, who often even tolerates two adult males at her side. The remaining members are usually young animals from previous years. The dominant female is the only one who reproduces. The other members of reproductive age are either actively prevented from mating or kept infertile by scents (so-called pheromones).
After birth, the offspring immediately cling to their parents' fur and can be carried safely through the branches. Family groups inhabit fixed areas in the lower and middle tree layers of the tropical rainforest of South America. The mother and father, and often other family members, take turns caring for the young. This is also the case at Chemnitz Zoo. Mother "Bonnie" also gives the two young animals to father "Fernando" and the older siblings, who also live in the group. "Bonnie" and "Fernando" have already produced several offspring.
The population of pygmy marmosets is declining significantly as a result of habitat loss and hunting. Since 2020, they have therefore been classified as endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - the middle of three endangerment categories. This makes the successful and coordinated breeding of such endangered species all the more important. This species has been successfully kept and bred at Chemnitz Zoo for many years.
www.tierpark-chemnitz.de
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Zoo: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm
Game enclosure: 9 am to 6 pm, last admission 5 pm