PREVIEW

Adorable Cotton-top Tamarin Born at Blackpool Zoo. Blackpool Zoo has announced the birth of an adorable and critically endangered Cotton-top tamarin. The tiny tamarin tot, born on 16 June, is constantly being cared for collectively by the group, who take turns carrying it on their backs to ease the pressure on the mother. This constant close contact makes it impossible to identify its gender at the moment. Day of the Cotton-top Tamarin is celebrated on 15 August each year and Blackpool Zoo has a successful history of breeding and caring for the striking species which develops a wild crest of white hair as it grows. There are approximately 6,000 individuals remaining in the wild, just 2,000 of which are mature adults. With only two remaining fragments of Cotton-top tamarin habitat left in Columbia, they are in real danger of extinction. This latest birth is another significant milestone for the zoo’s Cotton-top tamarin population, which has seven individuals across two social groups. Parents Rosa and Rico are experienced in rearing young after having successfully raised twins last year.