LONDON, U.K. - One of the world's most endangered primates, a baby black lion tamarin monkey named Franscisco has been born at a wildlife park in the United Kingdom. The species of monkey is critically endangered in the wild, with fewer than 1,000 black lion tamarins remaining.Black lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) are small agile monkeys, which have silky long black hair and a mane around their heads.
- Named Francisco, the baby's arrival will help efforts to reintroduce the species to its native habitat.
- This rarity led the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, an internal charity based in Jersey that works to save species from extinction, to begin a captive breeding programme of the species.
- Francisco was born on 22 March this year by Caesarean section. Durrell delayed announcing his birth until keepers were confident he had made it past his potentially risky early few weeks of life.
Francisco is the first healthy baby born to his mother, named Roxanne, who has previously lost two babies and suffered several miscarriages.Due to her previous problems the Durrell staff decided to monitor her four-and-a-half month pregnancy and deliver the baby by Caesarean at the appropriate time.
For all the Tamarin enthusiast out there, I have just released a game for the iPhone/iPad that features a Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, called Monkeyshines! Here is the gameplay trailer: Youtube Video and you can download the game here: iTunes Link (10% of the sales are going to a leading conservation organization).
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