RACINE -- The Racine Zoo announced on Monday, February 27th that its breeding pair of emperor tamarins has given birth to a set of twins! The birth came in the early morning hours of Friday, February 24th.
Twin baby emperor tamarins born at Racine Zoo
Racine Zoo officials say mom Isabella, from New England Zoo and dad Marquis, from San Francisco Zoo have been mates since the summer of 2012. Their first offspring Cadeau, a two-year-old female, was moved to the Staten Island Zoo last September 2016 to be part of another breeding pair.
Only the Racine Zoo and the Como Zoo in St. Paul, MN, has successfully bred this type of tamarin.
Twin baby emperor tamarins born at Racine Zoo
Wild emperor tamarins are found in western Amazonia, where large rivers restrict their circulation. They live in small areas of lowland tropical rainforest in parts of Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. Due to their fairly small size, the emperor tamarin has a number of predators within their natural habitat such as wild cats, snakes and birds. The tamarin population numbers are rapidly declining due to deforestation causing habit loss.