Košice Zoo announces both sad news and happy news

A FOUR-year-old female Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) at the Košice-Kavečany zoo, one of four brought from Prague, died in mid August, according to Erich Kočner, the new head of the zoo in the eastern metropolis.

One of the newborn Cottontop Tamarins takes a ride on mom (or is it dad?) in the Košice zoo.One of the newborn Cottontop Tamarins takes a ride on mom (or is it dad?) in the Košice zoo. (Source: TASR)

A FOUR-year-old female Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) at the Košice-Kavečany zoo, one of four brought from Prague, died in mid August, according to Erich Kočner, the new head of the zoo in the eastern metropolis.

He reported to the SITA newswire that the penguin, among the oldest in the flock, had not suffered any injury but died from an infection, confirmed by a later autopsy. Currently, four adult penguins and one infant penguin are living at the zoo.

A few days before the penguin died, two baby Cottontop Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) were born in Kavečany. These small monkeys, native to the rainforests of Latin America, are housed in the zoo’s Exotic Pavilion standing just to the left of the zoo’s entrance. Tamarins were first brought to Košice in 2001: the male named Maťo came from Ústí nad Labem and the female named Cinci from Olomouc, both zoos in the Czech Republic.

“The pair founded a family that already counts seven members. The greatest joy is currently brought by the two youngest tamarinds which are just a few weeks old. They are taken care of mainly by their father and older siblings – mother just washes and feeds them,” Kočner told the TASR newswire.

Zoo officials said Cottontop Tamarins are an endangered species and their eating habits are quite variable as they like small insects like crickets and grasshoppers, but also have a taste for yoghurt, canned baby food, fruits, sponge cakes and various mashes made from curd.


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