Wirral Life September 2017 | Page 24

W ZOOLIFE L 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