The Green Planet, the only in-door rainforest in Dubai, welcomed newborn Cotton-top Tamarin twins on Tuesday.
Cotton-top Tamarins are small monkeys weighing up to half a kilo. Their natural habitat is in the northwest of Colombia, but deforestation has left them with only five percent of their geographic range, leaving them in danger of extinction.
The Green Planet entered into a conservation program to ensure the species survival and diversity.
Cotton-top Tamarins are known for their cooperative parenting. When looking for food, the father holds the young to allow the mother to forage for food or produce milk. When the young are weaned from milk, the father and the rest of the community help by offering them food.
These are the first babies for the Green Planet's new parents, and first-time breeding has a low success rate for Cotton-top Tamarins. The Green Planet is optimistic, however, that the newborn twins will continue to thrive and will soon be able to help their parents if extra support is needed.
"Cotton-top Tamarins historically play an important role in seed dispersal and fertilization within the rainforest," said General Manager Victoria Lyn. "However, in the early 60's and 70's Cotton-top Tamarins were often exported in their thousands to the US for medical testing related to colon cancer treatment.
"Along with this, deforestation and human activity have unfortunately meant that their population has rapidly declined in the wild. Through our conservation breeding program, like many around the world, we hope that we can help support in re-building a healthy population of the species."
The twins are available to be seen in the Green Planet in-door rainforest.