November 19, 2025
Philadelphia Zoo/Facebook
A pair of pied tamarins were born in mid-September at the Philadelphia Zoo. They have yet to be named.
There's a baby boom among endangered primates at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Twin pied tamarins — a small monkey species native to rainforests in Brazil — were born in mid-September, the zoo announced Tuesday. They are the second set of pied tamarin twins born at the zoo this year, and can be viewed at the Rare Animal Conservation Center.
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The babies, who have not yet been named, are healthy and growing appropriately, the zoo said. They are the third and fourth offspring born to Whitney and Napoleon, the pied tamarins that welcomed the zoo's other set of twins in February. Their sexes also have yet to be determined.
Pied tamarins are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to threats like habitat loss, environmental change and disease. Their population in the wild is expected to drop by 80% by 2033.
The Philadelphia Zoo became the first zoo in the United States to breed the species in 2010. Pied tamarins typically produce twins after a 6-month gestation, but many tamarin species have high rates of infant mortality and the babies do not always survive.
On average, pied tamarin infants weigh 1 1/2 ounces at birth. The dads typically carry them but return the babies to their mom for nursing every couple hours. The babies ride on their parents' backs until they are about 8 weeks old.
"Mom Whitney and dad Napoleon have proven themselves to be great parents with their first twins born in February of this year," said Amy Skokowski, the zoo's director of primates. "We are excited to watch the new family dynamics with the older kids also taking turns to care for their new siblings."
The zoo's birth announcement comes shortly after news that the zoo's 15-year-old lionness, Tajiri, was euthanized due to an aggressive form of cancer.
On Thursday, the zoo's LumiNature light show opens for the holiday season, as does its latest attraction — a 110-foot tall ferris wheel. LumiNature runs on select nights through Jan. 3.
