It may only be a week old but a rare addition to Banham Zoo is already monkeying around with its family.

Eastern Daily Press: The latest addition to Banham Zoo - a baby golden lion tamarin with its family.The latest addition to Banham Zoo - a baby golden lion tamarin with its family. (Image: Archant)

The baby golden lion tamarin – which gets its name from its mane of orange hair – is one of the world's most endangered primates.

Staff now face a six month wait until the tiny marmoset is independent enough for zookeepers to determine it's gender.

Until then, the nameless baby will be looked after by its dad Kumquast and will only be returned to mum Rosa for feeding time.

Animal manager at the zoo Mike Woolham said: 'At the moment it is very much a case of wait and see – there's not a huge amount of influence that we can have.'

But he added that the zookeepers know what warning signs to look out for.

'A baby tamarin will curl their tail up. If their tail starts to become very straight, it's a sign of weakness. That will be an indication that all is not well,' he said.

The shy golden lion tamarins are so rare that only 1,500 live in the wild, with the majority in Rio de Janeiro. A further 450 are looked after in zoos worldwide.

Do you have an animal story? Contact Lauren Cope on lauren.cope@archant.co.uk