Chattanooga Zoo welcomes three baby pied tamarins

The Chattanooga Zoo announced the birth of three pied tamarins, a species of endangered primates found in the Amazonian rainforest.

The triplets were born early today to "seasoned mother and first time father, Zafra and Sammy," according to a press release from the Chattanooga Zoo.

Nine-year-old Zafra has mothered and raised three infants at the Cleveland Zoo before arriving at the Chattanooga Zoo in April 2016. Her three newborns make her a mother of six. She and Sammy, also nine years old, are doing well and proving to be caring parents, according to the press release.

Group care is an important feature among tamarin social structures, as the offspring don't start to show mobility until they are 3-5 weeks old and are very dependent on their parents for up to seven months, stated the press release.

"It is so exciting to have baby triplets at our zoo and even more special to have a birth of an endangered species," stated Dardenelle Long, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Zoo, in the press release. "This birth speaks volumes to the special care our staff provides to our animals and the relentless work they put into conserving animals all over the world."

The Chattanooga Zoo first began housing pied tamarins in 2009, and this is the zoo's first successful species survival plan breeding of this species. There are currently seven pied tamarins housed at the zoo, including the three newborns.

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