Babies Spring Up Around the Zoo

Spring has finally sprung at Drusillas Park, bringing with it the welcome arrival of some little bundles of fur and feathers. Amongst the baby boomers of 2013 is a Goeldi’s monkey, silvery marmoset, red-handed tamarin and a tiny black cheeked lovebird.

The first arrival of 2013 appeared within the Goeldi’s monkey family, when Swela gave birth to her first baby with partner Luiz. The pair were introduced at Drusillas in 2011 and the new addition is making excellent progress. In the wild these small primates inhabit the dense rainforests of South America where populations are sadly declining.

The monkey madness then continued with the arrival of a silvery marmoset. The pearl coloured poppet was born on 25^th March and has four older brothers and sisters at the zoo. The whole family is closely guarded by proud parents, Captain Jack and Hester and are part of the European breeding programme.

Just a few days later another mini monkey made an appearance; the red-handed tamarin was born on 28^th March and is doing well alongside parents, Alice and Harry. Red-handed tamarins live in groups of up to 20 individuals and babies are cared for by all members of the group. In the wild, they inhabit the tropical rainforests of Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Surinam and are covered in black fur with the exception of their distinctive red hands and feet.

Finally, zoo keepers made the happy discovery of a lovebird chick on 8^th April. These colourful birds are native to Zambia and are Africa’s most endangered parrot. Although this species can breed all year, they generally favour the warmer months. They typically lay four or five eggs, which hatch after approximately 25 days and fledge after six weeks. The group are sitting on a further 12 eggs, so hopefully this will be the first of many tiny tweets to hatch at the zoo in 2013.