Pied tamarin twins are thriving at a small Devon zoo
Shaldon Wildlife Trust said the critically endangered twins were born on September 29 and kept quiet for weeks. They now ride on their parents, and the zoo is one of two in Europe to breed the species this year.
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BBC News reported on November 6, 2026, that pied tamarin twins born at Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon are thriving. Director Zak Showell said they were born on September 29 to mother Bobby and father Pedra. Keepers waited weeks before announcing the birth so the family could have quiet. The infants have started to ride on their parents' backs as they move through the habitat.
Showell said pied tamarins are unusually delicate and hard to breed, and that a zoo of Shaldon's size is one of only two European zoos to manage it this year. In the wild the species is limited to a shrinking pocket of rainforest around Manaus, Brazil. The news is this birth in Devon and the care that got the twins through their first weeks. It is not a change in the number of pied tamarins still living near Manaus.
For the classroom
BBC News reported that twin pied tamarins were born at Shaldon Wildlife Trust, a small zoo in Devon, England. Their mother is Bobby and their father is Pedra. They were born on September 29, and keepers waited weeks to tell people so the family could stay quiet. The babies now ride on their parents' backs. Pied tamarins are very delicate, and the zoo said it is one of only two zoos in Europe to breed them this year. In the wild they live in a shrinking patch of rainforest near Manaus, Brazil. This news is the twins in Devon. It does not say how many still live near Manaus.
- Why might keepers wait before telling visitors that delicate babies have been born?
- Where do pied tamarins live when they are not in a zoo?
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Shaldon, United KingdomZoosWildlife conservationGood news on November 6
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