Altina Wildlife Park have welcomed two new additions to their wild family, just in time for reopening after a month long lockdown.
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Sebastian and Alexander are Emperor Tamarins, a species of monkey that were allegedly named for their resemblance to the German Emperor Wilhelm II, were flown in from Wildlife HQ on the Sunshine Coast.
Operations manager at Altina, Rebecca Surian said that the pair was part the park's five year plan and would help other wildlife facilities across the country make space for a nationwide breeding program.
"There are limited spaces in the country to house this species so by taking onboard a bachelor group of Emperor Tamarins, we are creating space for other facilities to breed and increase the gene pool of the species," she said.
Native to the south-west Amazon Basin, north Bolivia and the western Brazillian states of Acre and Amazonas, the boys will join 48 other species at the park, with two to three more Emperor Tamarins expected to join them in the coming weeks.
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According to Mrs Surian, the young monkeys had settled in 'extremely well'.
"As soon as they were released into their exhibit they settled in immediately and began investigating their new surroundings whilst grabbing food and drink on the way," Mrs Surian said.
"They are very happy and health and already are very comfortable with staff, even sitting on shoulders and taking food out of our hands."
And with schools holidays just around the corner, the timing is perfect.
"It's nice to have a new species going into school holidays and coming out of lockdown," Mrs Surian said.
"We are hoping for a busy school holidays because even when we were closed to the public, we still had to care for the animals and pay staff to do so."
The park is also set to welcome dingoes by Christmas, are looking to welcome maned wolves and even hyenas to its family in the coming months.
Bookings are essential to visit Altina Wildlife Park.
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