Tiny Devon Zoo Breeds Critically Endangered Pied Tamarin Twins

One of the smallest accredited zoos in the United Kingdom has announced the birth of twin pied tamarins, a critically endangered primate from South America. Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon, England, said the pair were born on Sept. 29 to their mother, Bobby, and father, Pedra, according to BBC News.

The trust said the young animals are doing well. Zoo leaders also said Shaldon was one of just two European zoos to manage a pied tamarin birth this year, a result they described as a point of pride for a small team.

What the zoo says about the twins

BBC News reported that the trust described the infants as thriving. It said they have started to hitch rides on their parents' backs as the family explores its habitat.

Zak Showell, the zoo's director, said the births stood out in what he called an incredible year for arrivals at Shaldon. He called the twins "extra special." He also said pied tamarins are exceptionally delicate animals and that breeding them successfully is a challenge.

The trust said the species needs stress-free surroundings and specialist care. For that reason, keepers deliberately kept the news quiet for a few weeks after the birth. The aim, the zoo said, was to give the family complete peace and quiet while the babies settled in.

A species under pressure in the wild

The trust described pied tamarins as among the most endangered primates in South America. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as critically endangered on its Red List, according to the BBC report.

In the wild, the zoo said, the animals are confined to "a shrinking pocket of rainforest" around Manaus, Brazil. The trust did not give population figures in the account carried by the BBC, and the report does not say how many pied tamarins are in zoos.

Why it matters

For most readers, this is a small and cheerful animal story, but it shows how difficult it can be to look after a species whose wild habitat is limited. The zoo's account is that these primates are sensitive to stress and need specialist handling. That helps explain why a successful birth is treated as news, and why keepers withheld the announcement for several weeks.

The births also say something about the size of the place that achieved them. Shaldon is among the smallest accredited zoos in the UK, yet it says it was one of only two European zoos to manage a pied tamarin birth this year. That claim comes from the trust itself, as relayed by the BBC. The report does not name the other zoo or say how the claim was verified.

It is also worth noting what the story does not show. A single pair of healthy infants does not change the species' status in the wild, where the IUCN still lists it as critically endangered. The BBC report presents the births as a milestone for the zoo and its team, not as a measure of the species' overall recovery.

What the twins are doing now

According to the trust, the infants are riding on their parents' backs as the family moves around its enclosure. Whether and when visitors will be able to see them was not disclosed in the BBC report. The trust said only that the news was kept private at first so the family could have calm in the early weeks.

The parents' names, Bobby and Pedra, and the birth date of Sept. 29 are the only individual details the zoo shared. The sex of the twins was not given.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News