Emperor tamarin twins: Racine Zoo announces September arrivals
Emperor tamarin twins born September 2023 (Courtesy: Racine Zoo)
RACINE, Wis. - The Racine Zoo on Wednesday, Nov. 1 announced the arrival of another pair of emperor tamarin twins.
The new tamarins were born in September – 15 months after their older siblings arrived in the summer of 2022. Though the birth frequency can seem fast to humans, it is not uncommon for emperor tamarins, the zoo said.
The zoo said animal care staff had been suspicious of a possible pregnancy for some time, and an ultrasound confirmed these suspicions a few weeks before the mother, Amelie, gave birth.
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These twins are the ninth and 10th offspring of Amelie and her mate, Pitino, the zoo said. It makes a total of 18 emperor tamarins born at the Racine Zoo since 2014 – including the Amelie, who was born in 2017.
"I am very proud of the Racine Zoo and its ability to contribute to the long-term survivability of this species. The Animal Care staff at Racine Zoo are very adept at their care and breeding," said Dan Powell, the Racine Zoo's curator of animal care and conservation.
The Racine Zoo is a partner of the Species Survival Plan for emperor tamarins, and tamarins that were born at Racine Zoo are now living in zoos all across the country from Arizona to New Jersey. Offspring born at the Racine Zoo make up 30% of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' survival plan population and 11 of them are currently housed at other AZA institutions.