Callitrichids at Belfast Zoological Gardens, Northern Ireland

Abstract

Belfast Zoological Gardens has an excellent callitrichid collection that includes representatives from all five genera (see Table 1). Although the zoo has been at the picturesque Cave Hill site since 1934, the development of a new zoo began in 1977. Rather than modifying and upgrading existing enclosures, the new zoo was started from scratch higher up the hill. Careful research ensured that the designs of the new enclosures met the behavioural needs of the animals. Great emphasis has also been placed on allowing optimum viewing for the public. As a result, Belfast has excellent exhibits, and this has been recognised by outside organisations, for instance the gorilla house recently received an award from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). The purpose of this article is to describe the housing and husbandry of the callitrichid collection at Belfast and to examine their breeding records over the past 10 years.