A HAMPSHIRE zoo is celebrating a pair of squirrel monkeys being born this month.

The two infants are the first squirrel monkeys to be born at Marwell Zoo, Thompson's Lane, Winchester, for 15 years.

The mothers of the furry friends are Gwyneth, age six, and Reyes, age four, while the father is Max who is 13-years-old and arrived from Cotswold Wildlife Park in April 2019.

This comes after the zoo took in an endangered Grevy’s zebra foal and critically endangered mountain bongo calf in September.

The two squirrel monkeys have not been sexed yet, as keepers leave the mothers and babies to bond and socialise with the rest of the group.

Primates and Small Mammals Team Leader at Marwell Wildlife, Jamie Wharton, said: "As their name suggests, squirrel monkeys are small primates, and these infants are tiny.

"They weigh around a hundred grams, which is about the same as a small apple, and the young cling to their mother’s front or back, so you need to look carefully to spot them."

He added: "As the babies grow older and gain more confidence, they will play and interact with each other loads, so that will be great to see.”

Guianan squirrel monkeys are located in tropical forests in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana as well as northern Brazil.

The monkeys usually mate during the ‘dry season’ within a two-month period and all pregnant females in a group tend to give birth within a week of each other.

Squirrel monkeys travel through forests by jumping rather than swinging, walking or clambering.

They use their legs to leap and their long tails help the monkeys balance.

The two monkeys were born on October 7 and October 8.

The Guianan squirrel monkeys and infants can be found in Marwell’s Life Among the Trees exhibit.

Marwell Zoo is home to more than 140 species and is owned by Marwell Wildlife - a conservation charity leading programmes in the UK, Africa and across the world.