Marmosets!

By Londonist Last edited 202 months ago
Marmosets!
marmoset.jpg

And no, it's not just some made up word. You could be excused for not knowing what a marmoset is; unless you've spent time in South American rainforests or really a lot of time hanging out at small mammal houses at zoos. Really, what you need to know is that they're related to monkeys, and are really, really cute.

London Zoo has just opened their new rainforest exhibit, where you can get up close and personal with marmosets and their rainforest dwelling friends. You can check out the zoo's rainforset at canopy and ground level in the new basement to rooftop rainforest habitat with translucent roof, which is probably the closest you'll ever get to a rainforest.

Other animals with seemingly fake names that can be seen at the exhibit include endangered golden lion tamarins, Goeldi's monkeys, pottos, slow loris, slender loris, emperor tamarin, and gentle lemurs. There's also a nocturnal area, if you find daytime animals too boring and predictable.

So, you've got three choices for seeing a marmoset in person. A career at Huntingdon Life Sciences, several thousand pounds for a trip to South America and a rainforest expedition, or £14 for a London Zoo ticket. Not much of a decision, is it?

Image taken from mariandy_gizfel's Flickr photostream.

By Alice Huzar

Last Updated 25 May 2007