Adelaide Zoo
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Double-delight with the birth of Pygmy Marmoset twins!

Adelaide Zoo is celebrating the birth of two very tiny twin Pygmy Marmosets – the world’s smallest species of monkey!

The delightful duo was born at Adelaide Zoo on 21 March 2016 to seasoned mum Fluffy.

The two-week-old twins are a lasting legacy to their dad, Emanuel, who sadly passed away two days before their birth on 19 March due to complications related to an enlarged thyroid.

Luckily for Fluffy, raising baby marmosets is a family affair, with the entire troop pitching in to take care of the little ones.

Primate keeper Sophie Miller says the twins, which are still too young for us to identify their sex, are clinging tightly to doting mum, but are lovingly cared for by the entire family.

“Fluffy is a really great mum and their older siblings do a great job helping out too,” Sophie said.

“Fluffy parks the babies throughout their habitat – placing them on someone else or on a branch so she can have a well-deserved break.

“We’re very pleased with their progress to date and the new family appears to be relaxed as they groom each other and move around their home.”

Adelaide Zoo has housed Pygmy Marmosets for almost 10 years and during this time has successfully bred 16 baby marmosets.

It may be hard to spot the infants at first as they camouflage well on the backs’ of the adults, but they give themselves away with little movements of their arms and tails.

Pygmy Marmosets are the smallest monkey in the world, weighing in around 110-140 grams and growing to just 13 centimetres long.

But there’s nothing tiny about a Pygmy Marmoset’s tail: it’s longer than its body! It helps the little monkey keep its balance as it moves through the treetops

Native to the Amazonian rainforests, they display squirrel-like movements – running up and down tree trunks and leaping up to five metres at a time.  Their unique ability to turn their heads up to 180 degrees helps them scan their environment for predators.

The major threat facing Pygmy Marmosets in the wild is loss of habitat and degradation of their natural habitat and the illegal pet trade.

The public can visit the new family in Adelaide Zoo’s Tamarin House.

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