Love blooms at Brooklands Zoo: Nomi and Teo’s romance

Teo and Nomi.

It was love at first sight for two furry residents at New Plymouth District Council’s Brooklands Zoo.

Those residents were cotton-top tamarin monkey Nomi, who recently arrived from Auckland Zoo, and her new mate, Teo.

“They’re definitely getting along well - they hit it off from the get-go,” said Brooklands Zoo lead Eve Cozzi.

“Teo’s even putting on weight because Nomi is so generous with the food that they share.”

Brooklands Zoo has had cotton-top tamarins since 2000 and is part of the nationwide breeding programme for this critically endangered species - but Cozzi said the squeaks of baby tamarins won’t be heard anytime soon as their offspring aren’t required yet.

“They may be needed further down the track though, because they’re a really good pairing - we got Teo from Australia in 2020.”

Getting 4-year-old Nomi as a partner for 7-year-old Teo was great news for the zoo as cotton-top tamarins are social animals with strong family ties.

“They’re also hugely popular among zoo visitors. People love how tiny they are and their funky hairdo - they’re definitely unique-looking.”

The monkeys live up to 14 years in the wild but can live up to 24 years in captivity.

Brooklands Zoo will be celebrating the Day of the Cotton-Top Tamarin on August 17 and 18 with keeper talks at 12pm and 2pm that will feature behavioural enrichment (activities that encourage the monkeys’ natural habits in the wild) and a chalk activity for kids.

There are only 7000 cotton-top tamarins left in the wild in Colombia, with their main threats being habitat loss and the pet trade.