Baby Marmosets swing into action
Wednesday 14 September 2005
There are two new additions at Whipsnade as twins are welcomed into the Marmoset family.
The two baby marmosets were born last Friday to proud parents Humbug and Dewey and are the second set of youngsters for the family this year.
Like humans, marmosets live as a family unit and as such the whole group takes responsibility for the youngsters. The babies are carried until they reach about six weeks old, at which point they start to venture away from their carers.
The marmosets are a free roaming species at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and in keeping with their wild habitat they stick to a small territory, are reluctant to go on the ground and keep in touch through vocalisation.
They are kept on a nutritious diet of fresh fruit, vegetables and a special cake, made from marmoset pellets and jelly which provides them with extra vitamins, plus whilst out and about they help themselves to tasty little insect snacks and are partial to a bit of tree sap.
In the wild marmosets can be found in the South American rainforests and are increasingly in danger as their natural habitat is destroyed.
