Tierpark: Multiple offspring in the marmoset house
Juveniles of the spherical armadillos and pygmy marmosets on display
There are multiple offspring in the marmoset house at Chemnitz Zoo. On 13 May, a cub was born to the ball armadillos. The keepers found the cub in the sleeping box of mum "Piepe". With a birth weight of only around 90 g, it now weighs 670 g, which is perfectly normal. It is healthy and lively.
At the moment it is still often hiding in its whelping box and is rarely seen. The best chance is at the weekly weighing on Thursdays at 2 pm, even if it is still very shy. When it is weighed, it curls up into a ball for protection - hence the name ball armadillo.
As the carers find it difficult to visually assess the nutritional status through the carapace, weighing is a good alternative to check whether the mother and cub are in good health.
Father "Pacho" is currently housed separately from mother and offspring, as the males can certainly be dangerous to the offspring, especially if it is also a male. However, the sex has not yet been determined. This will probably only be determined in the next few weeks.
The pygmy marmosets' neighbours, the pygmy marmosets, have also had offspring. And twice over - twin births are not a rarity here, but the rule.
The young 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.
After birth, the offspring immediately cling to their parents' fur and can be carried safely through the branches. Family groups live in 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 here. "Bonnie" and "Fernando" have already produced several offspring.
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 are kept infertile by scent substances (so-called pheromones).
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 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - 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.
Opening hours in summer:
| Zoo: | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., last admission 6 p.m. |
| Game enclosure: | 8am to 6pm, last admission 5pm |