Got names for tiny two-some?

Sunday 05 April 2015

Two cheeky little monkeys are in need of a name and Durrell is launching a competition to find them and help their species struggling to survive in the wild.

The pied tamarin twins were born at the wildlife park at the end of last year but keepers are yet to decide on names for the pair.

Senior Mammal Keeper Rachel Cowen said: "At just over three months old, the twins are becoming more and more independent – they are eating the same food as the adults and are particularly partial to locusts, stealing them out of their patient parents’ hands! Both infants are very adventurous and can be seen racing around the enclosure, investigating everything they come across. However, if they get scared or are feeling  a bit sleepy, they will jump onto the nearest older brother or sister and hitch a lift on their backs!"

Omelette, Bean and Benedict are already part of the family but whether these two will be named after breakfast treats too is up to you.

Every suggestion will cost you £1, money that will go towards helping their native species, the most endangered monkeys living in South America's Amazon rainforest.

Durrell's Head of Mammals Dominic Wormell said: "The beautiful pied tamarin is considered to be the most threatened primate in all of the amazon, with a tiny range of occurrence in and around the ever expanding city of Manaus. The tamarins habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate. Durrell is working with its partners in Brazil on the rescue and translocation of tamarins in isolated fragments of forest, and on the creating of forest corridors to connect up the remaining forest.

"Durrell has been very successful at breeding this very sensitive species and at present we are running courses in Brazil to help build capacity to look after the species in its native Brazil." 

There’s an animal adoption up for grabs for the person who thinks of the best names before Friday 10 April when their keepers will decide what to call them.

You can name the pair here.