Meet the newest twins at the Racine Zoo

By WISN Staff

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    RACINE, Wisconsin (WISN) — The Racine Zoo is showing off two of its newest family members!

Twin emperor tamarins were born on Dec. 22 to Amelie and Pitino.

Amelie, the mother, was born at the Racine Zoo.

Her newest offspring represent the pair’s fifth and sixth babies in the past three years.

Officials said the twins were “doing fantastically.”

The Racine Zoo is one of three zoos that are currently successfully breeding emperor tamarins.

These offspring also mark the 13th and 14th offspring born at the zoo since breeding efforts took off in the 2010s.

This success, among others, has led the Racine Zoo’s primary primate specialist, Crystal Champeau, to be a part of the new world monkey Taxon Advisory Group, and serve as a resource to tamarin keepers across the country.

Recently, Amelie’s father, Marquis, and brothers, Jacques and Pierre, moved to a new home at the Phoenix Zoo.

This made plenty of room in their home for the new little ones.

Raising tamarins is a family affair, especially with twins.

Zoo visitors can often find the babies riding on their mother or father’s back as they jump through the branches of their home.

Their older siblings, Vinny, Valentino, Debby Lou, and Mattessich, are also taking part in rearing the offspring and participating in their care while gaining valuable parenting experience themselves, and hopefully, one day start families of their own.

“We are so excited to welcome yet another generation of tamarins,” said Aszya Summers, Curator of Animal Care and Conservation Education at the Racine Zoo. “We are proud to be a part of the emperor tamarin Species Survival Plan, and our ability to continue to contribute to the sustainability of this species.”

Visitors can visit all eight tamarins on exhibit at the Vanishing Kingdom building at the Racine Zoo.

Incredibly curious primates, they want to see visitors, too, zoo officials said.

As the babies grow, they will start to venture off their family members’ backs and wander the exhibit themselves!

While they’re still small, watch the zoo’s social media for a gender reveal once they are confirmed.

Fans will get to vote on the twins’ names.

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