Lively zoo residents: little monkeys with imperial moustaches
They are the current highlight at Salzburg Zoo: the little emperor tamarins. The local newspaper visited the monkey family with a mustache.
An animal keeper at the Salzburg Zoo was very enthusiastic when she observed how the one-month-old emperor tamarin Kalani ate solid food in the form of a piece of banana for the first time. Mother Momo offered the fruit to the little marmoset and since then it has been at the top of the menu for the young animals Kalani and Suri.
However, they no longer only beg from their parents Gordon or Momo, but now and then reach into the food bowl themselves. “As long as they don’t know what they can and can’t eat, they take their fruit, vegetables and insects directly from their parents,” explains managing director Sabine Grebner. “If the hunger is great, the two can also get really loud.”
Native to South America
The little emperor tamarins at their best “boornant age” not only make themselves heard loudly, their beard growth is also quite impressive. However, a look at the “imperial beard” of the parents gives an idea: there is still room for improvement.
The long white mustache is undoubtedly the most distinctive feature of the marmosets native to South America. They owe their name to him. Since the emperor tamarins, discovered for the first time in 1907 in Europe, were initially only seen in museums as preserved specimens – with the beard twisted upwards in the imperial manner – it is based on a “small error”. Nevertheless, the name has stuck with the little beard bearers.
For Gordon, who was born in Salzburg Zoo on March 31, 2018, and his four-year-old partner Momo, who came to Salzburg from Tierpark Bern last year, Kulani and Suri are the ones
first cubs. “But they did their job very well. As is usual with these primates, father Gordon primarily took care of the back and carried the little ones on his for the first few weeks. He then handed them over to the mother to suckle,” reveals Sabine Grebner. The sex of the young is not yet known.
If you want to see the lively monkey family jumping from branch to branch, you should stop by the Gibbon House on your next visit to the zoo. 2G is currently still in force in the zoo, but it should be relaxed from February 19th. Current informations: www.zoo-salzburg.de. − hours