Joy in Salzburg

Smallest monkey species in the world had offspring at the zoo

The endangered pygmy marmosets grow to a maximum size of 15 centimetres. This little monkey and a sibling were recently born at Salzburg Zoo.

(Bild: Zoo Salzburg / Angelika Köppl)

Joy at Salzburg Zoo! They are on the red list of endangered species, but in Salzburg the pygmy marmosets have now had offspring. The couple Eloise and Viv are taking intensive care of their twin monkeys.

You have to look hard to spot the mini monkeys. The twins were recently born and are carried alternately by their parents on their backs. In these marmosets, the males usually carry the offspring on their backs and hand them over to the mother to suckle. At Salzburg Zoo, things are a little different, as six-year-old Eloise and 13-year-old Viv share the task.

Important contribution to the preservation of the species
"Whether tiny or not, the care of mother Eloise and father Viv is huge," says Managing Director Sabine Grebner. With a body length of up to 15 centimetres, dwarf marmosets are considered the smallest monkey species in the world. "The birth of the two little pygmy marmosets once again makes an important contribution to the conservation of this monkey species," explains curator Lisa Sernow.

On the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), pygmy marmosets are classified as "endangered". Unfortunately, the wild animals, which are considered "cute" by many due to their small body size alone, are often kept illegally as pets and are heavily hunted. 

For the breeding couple, the twins are the second offspring after a single cub born at the beginning of September last year.