My name is Jennie White and I am a Primate/Feline keeper at the zoo. This is my baby, Noel. Noel is a common marmoset, which is a very small specifies of primate. She was born here at the zoo as one of triplets on September 22, 2008 to parents Gizmo and Gadget. One of the triplets was stillborn and Noel was the smaller of the two surviving babies. Gizmo and Gadget are wonderful parents and very attentive to their babies, but Noel wasn’t doing very well and didn’t seem to be getting enough nourishment. She was 10 weeks old when we made the decision to pull and hand raise her for fear that she may not survive much longer among
the other marmosets. This was the first time a baby marmoset had been hand raised at the zoo and I was honored that I was chosen for the task.
Noel has a personality much like a little person. Some of her favorite foods are cheese, Gerber Graduates banana puffs, bugs.
She has grown up to be a very healthy and happy mormoset and we were thrilled to have found a mate for her, Jack. On February 10, 2011 she gave birth to her own tiny baby who she and Jack have raised entirely on their own.
This sweet marmoset family has their own exhibit now and are doing very well. Jack has played the role of "dad" very well, carrying the baby on his back and Noel is very good "mama" feeding her at all the right times.
The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is operated by the Zoo Foundation, Inc.,
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.