Audio clip
Kate Warner
Maggie was from New York City. Fang was from Dixie. As humans, this might have been an unlikely pairing, but for cotton-top tamarins, it was a match made in heaven.
Cotton-tops are a critically endangered species, and Maggie and Fang were placed together at Chattanooga Zoo two years ago with the hopes of encouraging breeding, said Kate Warner, the zookeeper in charge of the tamarins.
Those hopes were fulfilled in December when Maggie became pregnant.
ABOUT THE FAMILIES
Cotton-top tamarins
* Mother's name/age: Maggie, 4
* Father's name/age: Fang, 9
* Monogamous breeder: Yes, both in the wild and captivity.
* First-time parents?: Yes.
* Term of pregnancy: 183 days.
* Life expectancy (wild/captivity): 13-16 years/25 years.
Macaroni penguins
* Mother's name/age: Chaos, 9
* Father's name/age: Paulie, 10
* Monogamous breeder: Not normally in the wild but occasionally in captivity.
* Egg incubation period: 33-39 days.
* First-time parents?: Yes.
* Life expectancy (wild/captivity): 15-18 years/25-35 years.
STAY TUNED
Check out regular posts of videos, pictures and blogs about the penguin chick and unhatched eggs on the Tennessee Aquarium's Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.
A CROWDED NURSERY
In addition to the macaroni penguin chick, there have been a slew of births at the aquarium lately. They're being kept off-exhibit until they're older, but since May, keepers have found the following:
* One Atlantic stingray pup
* Three black ray pups
* One redheaded Amazon River turtle hatchling
* Two spotted turtle hatchlings
* Two yellow-blotched map turtle hatchlings
* One spiny turtle hatchling
* 13 boa constrictor hatchlings
WHAT'S IN A NAME
The cotton-top tamarin baby born at Chattanooga Zoo and the Tennessee Aquarium's recently hatched macaroni penguin chick are have not been named. Both institutions said they plan to hold contests for the public to name them in coming weeks.
FAST FACTS
* Estimates place the number of wild cotton-top tamarins at fewer than 1,000.
* Tamarin "speech" has a vocabulary of about 38 distinct sounds that adhere to normal grammatical rules.
* The cotton-top tamarin born at Chattanooga Zoo was climbing around the enclosure on its own 3 to 4 weeks after it was born.
* When the penguins at the Tennessee Aquarium were building nests in April, they would steal rocks from each other.
* Macaroni penguin chicks are fed 18-20 times a day.
* Macaroni penguins were named after a type of hat worn by flamboyantly dressed young men in England during the 1700s.
The zoo had been encouraging the two to reproduce, but the news was still shocking, Ms. Warner said.
"They told me on the phone, and everybody thought I would start screaming and make them go deaf, but my feet went out from underneath me," Ms. Warner said.
Maggie gave birth to an as-yet-unnamed, unsexed baby on May 5.
Tamarins in captivity are known for rejecting their babies, but both Maggie and Fang are proving to be "awesome" first-time parents, Ms. Warner said.
On June 18, the baby tamarin was joined by another newcomer in town, the first penguin chick to be born at the Tennessee Aquarium.
That chick, a macaroni penguin, may soon have company. There are still four unhatched gentoo penguin eggs expected to hatch by mid-July, said Amy Graves, the aquarium's senior aviculturalist.
The aquarium encouraged the 19-bird colony to go through the courtship process last year. They provided nesting materials, but the birds didn't take to the idea. This year, they were ready, Ms. Graves said.
It's not unusual for penguins to lay unfertilized eggs, so a successful hatching in the first year of serious breeding efforts was a pleasant surprise, Ms. Graves said.
"We weren't sure what we would get this year," she said. "I've been very pleased with how many eggs we got and for us to get our first chick."
Animal caretakers say that any time an animal gives birth in captivity, it's the ultimate fulfillment of the institutions' true purpose.
"We're not just places people can come to gawk at animals; we're a modern-day ark," Ms. Warner said. "Our job, if we're doing it correctly, is to replenish the species.
"We're helping contribute to that population and helping to ... grow a stronger generation."
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
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