A MINI baby boom has hit Colchester Zoo with four offspring born within a matter of weeks of each other.The birth of two Red River hog piglets, and two types of primates, a Squirrel Monkey and a Mandrill, is set to boost the zoo's breeding programmes and help protect endangered species.
A MINI baby boom has hit Colchester Zoo with four offspring born within a matter of weeks of each other.
The birth of two Red River hog piglets, and two types of primates, a Squirrel Monkey and a Mandrill, is set to boost the zoo's breeding programmes and help protect endangered species.
The zoo's breeding group of Mandrills, the largest in the country, got one bigger this month with the birth of a baby to mother Celine and father Dume in the Edge of Africa zone.
In total there are now 24 mandrills all living together at the zoo.
A spokeswoman for Colchester Zoo said: “This is excellent news for The European Endangered Species Programme that they are a part of, as they are one of the most endangered primates in the world. Their numbers are drastically reducing in the wild because of increasing habitat loss and hunting through the bushmeat trade.”
Another litter of Red River hog piglets-the second in three weeks-means there are now four piglets at the zoo, and all are healthy and strong.
The squirrel monkey was born in the Heart of the Amazon area of the zoo to parents Macey and Peter. The offspring is the third of the couple's babies.
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