W ZOOLIFE
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PYGMY MARMOSET
CHESTER ZOO NAMED
WORLD’S THIRD BEST ZOO
Chester Zoo has been named as the third best rated zoo in the world
by TripAdvisor – the world’s largest travel site. The zoo is home
to over 15,000 animals from over 500 species set in 125 acres of
zoological gardens. It is also rated as the best in the UK, according
to new rankings based on millions of online reviews. The influential
site announced the accolade via its 2017 TripAdvisor Travellers’
Choice awards. Jamie Christon, Chief Operating Officer at the zoo,
said: “We’re absolutely ecstatic to have been named as the third
best zoo in the world. It especially delights us as this ranking is
based purely on the millions of reviews and opinions of visitors. It’s
a real seal of approval from the public. With us being a registered
conservation and education charity it means an awful lot – as every
person that pays to come through our gates is contributing to our
vital global conservation work, preventing extinction overseas and
here in the UK.”
MEET THE UK’S ONLY
‘MINIATURE KANGAROOS’
The UK’s only dusky pademelons are set to make their public debut
at Chester Zoo. Rare miniature wallabies, Kai and Aru, will soon
hop out into the limelight – the first time the unusual Indonesian
animals have ever been seen at Chester. The rare mammals, a
species of marsupial, have arrived from Plzen Zoo in the Czech
Republic. Mammal keepers hope to eventually introduce the duo
to a female as part of a European-wide breeding programme for
threatened animals. Dusky pademelons are also known as dusky
wallabies and, in the wild, are found in forests on the island of
New Guinea. They are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with
their population estimated to have declined by 30% in the last 15-
20 years. The demise of the species is largely due to hunting for its
meat.
24 wirrallife.com
WORLD’S SMALLEST
MONKEY GIVES BIRTH TO
TINY TWINS
A pygmy marmoset, the world’s smallest species of monkey,
has given birth to twins at Chester Zoo. The tiny babies,
weighing in at just 15 grams, will measure just five inches
in length when fully grown. Arriving to mum Audrey and
dad Gumi, the mini monkeys were born on 25 July but
have only now grown to size whereby they’re big enough
to spot. Dr Nick Davis, Deputy Curator of Mammals at
the zoo, said: “Pygmy marmosets actually have relatively
large babies for their tiny size. An adult will only weigh up
to around 150 grams and so each baby equates to around
10% of its body weight. After giving the babies their regular
feeds, mum Audrey, like all other female Eastern pygmy
marmosets, steps aside while dad takes on the parental
chores. The youngsters can therefore often be seen being
carried by dad Gumi for long periods of time as mum takes
a well-deserved break.”
DUSKY PADEMELONS