Emperor Tamarins Enjoy a Royal Romance this Valentine’s Day

Love is certainly in the air for one Sussex couple this Valentine’s Day. Emperor tamarins, Lucy and Tiny Tim from Drusillas Park are one of the zoo’s long standing couples. They were introduced in 2005 and since then, the mini monkeys have been making a huge impression on each other.

This year to mark their tenth anniversary, the regal pair gave each other the greatest gift of all; a new heir to their animal kingdom. The baby bundle was born on 19 January and is the couple’s ninth baby born at the Park.

Emperor tamarins take their name from the 19th Century Emperor, Wilhelm II of Germany, who they are said to resemble on account of their distinctive moustaches. Sadly they are a threatened species in the wild, found naturally in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.

The fan-tash-tic pair at Drusillas Park were brought together as part of the European breeding programme created to help ensure the survival of the species in the future.  With one moving country and the other swapping county, Tiny Tim and Lucy travelled from Barcelona Zoo and Marwell Zoo respectively in pursuit of their blind date. Thankfully, Cupid’s arrow proved right on target and the pair hit it off straight away.

Over the last decade the pair’s love has continued to blossom and so has their family. The couple welcomed Pancho to the world in 2008, followed by Havana and Pepe in 2009, Mateo, Cruz and Lola in 2011 and Victoria and Albert in 2012.

Six of the eight siblings still live at Drusillas so the new baby will have plenty of monkey business to look forward to in the weeks ahead. For the time being however, the happy couple are keeping a close eye on their precious bundle – another perfect furry-tail in this royal romance.