Endangered monkey triplets born at Kansas zoo. See the ‘precious’ babies

A critically endangered monkey recently gave birth to three tiny triplets at a Kansas zoo.

The “precious” cotton-top tamarin babies were born to mother Kasasa and father Hotlips on Oct. 27, according to a Nov. 8 Facebook post from the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia.

“Kasasa, Hotlips, and older sibling, Oopsy, are doing an exceptional job nurturing the trio,” the zoo said. “The infants seem healthy, actively nursing, and starting to take notice of their surroundings.”

In a short video, one of the adorable cotton-top tamarins is captured yawning while clinging to a family member’s back.

“As the babies become stronger over the next few weeks, they’ll gradually start experimenting with solid foods and will gradually explore their habitat, venturing away from their parents,” according to the zoo.

Their genders have not been identified, but the zoo veterinarian plans to examine them “after they’ve had ample time to establish strong bonds within their family,” according to the Facebook post.

Cotton-top tamarins are diminutive New World monkeys that typically weigh less than a pound, zoo officials said.

“To put this into perspective, they are about the size of a squirrel,” according to the New England Primate Conservancy.

Native to forests of northwest Colombia, the species is endangered due to deforestation, according to the conservancy. They are also threatened by hunting and pet trading.

Emporia is about 90 miles northeast of Wichita.

This story was originally published November 9, 2023 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Endangered monkey triplets born at Kansas zoo. See the ‘precious’ babies."