BLACKPOOL BABY BOOM MEANS MONKEY MAGIC
It has been a year of monkey magic at Blackpool Zoo, with an amazing eleven primate births and a brand new species checking in just in time for the summer.
Four Ringtailed Lemurs, including a set of twins, two Red Fronted Lemurs, two Red Titi Monkeys, a White Faced Saki, a Debrazza’s monkey and a Goeldi’s Monkey complete the line-up of adorable babies born this year.
A male L’Hoest monkey has also arrived from Edinburgh and will be joined later this year by a female to make a breeding pair.
Hailing from the upper eastern Congo basin and also known as a Mountain Monkey, the new male is the first of his species to come to the zoo and his very loud, distinctive call is sure to draw attention!
The baby boom has seen some very cute additions to the zoo’s primate population and the babies are now all on view to the public.
With a troop of more than 30 Ringtailed Lemurs Blackpool Zoo’s hugely successful breeding programme was boosted with the addition of four more, including a beautiful set of twins.
The Red Fronted Lemurs are firm zoo favourites and the two babies have been successfully integrated into the group in Lemur Wood.
Red Titi Monkey babies have a very strong bond with their fathers and visitors to Blackpool Zoo can see the two new dads carrying, playing with, grooming and feeding their offspring.
The White Faced Saki Monkey has been born to very proud parents Paddy and Belle after a 21 week pregnancy and, along with the Debrazza and Goeldi’s monkey babies, is sure to turn heads!
Jude Rothwell, PR and Marketing co-ordinator at Blackpool Zoo said: “It has been a hugely exciting time with the birth of so many babies.
“We are particularly pleased to welcome the L’Hoest Monkey as he is the first new primate species to be introduced here for five years.
“Blackpool Zoo has a very long and successful history of breeding primates and this year is certainly no exception!”
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More information about Blackpool Zoo
A bumper year of momentous first time births, huge investment and a hat-trick of awards saw Blackpool Zoo’s visitor numbers hit new record heights in 2010.
An investment of over £1million during the year led to the grand opening of the UK’s biggest sea lion pool, which completes the zoo’s Active Oceans attraction, a brand new Wallaby Walkabout and a redeveloped home for the zoo’s resident Aardvarks Laurel and Arnie.
Blackpool Zoo won three prestigious awards during 2010. Visit Blackpool crowned Blackpool Zoo its Visitor Attraction of the Year, The Be Inspired Business Awards hailed it Tourism Business of the Year and it was also voted Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards.
Blackpool Zoo is owned by Parques Reunidos, the second largest European leisure parks operator and a leading world-wide player. The zoo is home to over 1,500 mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates set amidst thirty-two acres of mature woodland and lakes.
The zoo’s signature animals include elephants, giraffes, big cats, gorillas, orang-utans, sea lions, primates, zebras and kangaroos. It is open every day of the year, apart from Christmas Day, from 10am.
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