Awww!
Yes, the video showing a pair of golden-headed lion tamarin twins, which are the first of their endangered species to be born at the National Zoo in Washington in 16 years, draws that kind of response.
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The 3-month-old twins were born Oct. 7 at the facility, and zoo officials posted an update on how they were doing late last week, along with the video.
The National Zoo said the tamarin pair are “mischievous and curious babies,” according to their keepers, Mimi Nowlin and Maria Montgomery.
It is common for golden-headed lion tamarins to give birth to twins, according to zoo experts.
The twins are bonding with their parents — 4-year-old mother Lola and 7-year-old father Coco. It’s the first set of offspring for the parents.
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It’s not uncommon for the fathers to carry the babies and “give mom a break,” the zoo said, “and Coco fulfills that role.”
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A zoo newsletter on the tamarin family said, “Coco is always on alert when the babies explore the habitat — he’s a bit of a helicopter parent!” Lola, it said, “allows the babies to be independent,” and when “it’s time for them to nurse, she takes them into the nest box.”
Zookeepers said the twins don’t have names yet and will get their first veterinary exam when they are 6 months old. Keepers will also figure out their sexes and pick names for them then.
For now, the zookeepers said they tell them apart by their individual body markings. One of the babies has a “prominent white patch on its tail,” the zoo said, while the other has “an abundance of gold color throughout its body.”
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The twins have personalities like their parents, keepers said. Lola, the mom, is “an outgoing and curious tamarin who enjoys interacting with enrichment and puzzle feeders.” One of the twins, dubbed Golden Mane for now, “is like mom: playful, curious and mischievous,” the zoo’s newsletter said. Their father, Coco, is “more shy and reserved,” and the other twin, temporarily called White Tail, “takes after him,” being “more cautious, observant and [sticking] close to dad’s side,” keepers said.
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The zoo said in its newsletter: “We often see the babies explore the habitat together. When they do, their individual personalities really shine through.”
The twins have tried solid foods, including corn, grapes and waxworms (not recommended for human babies, by the way). And their favorite pastime is to try to sneak and steal food that’s hidden inside the toys for their parents.
In golden-headed lion tamarin families, the zoo said, young ones learn “how to be tamarins from their parents and older siblings.” It’s not uncommon for the eldest siblings to “learn how to carry the babies,” and they start sharing those duties with the father.
In the wild, fewer than 6,000 golden-headed lion tamarins live in their native habitats in mostly tropical forests in Bahia, Brazil, according to the National Zoo. Their population is declining because of deforestation. Officials said most of their natural habitat has been cleared and used for cattle ranching and cocoa plantations.