Sydney - A tiny baby pygmy marmoset monkey stolen from a wildlife park in Sydney has been recovered after a desperate race against time, Australian police reported on Monday.
The four-week-old baby the size of a tennis ball risked starving to death as it was still being breast-fed by its mother in the Symbio Wildlife Park south of Sydney.
The baby was stolen along with an adult male and a young female by thieves who forced their way into the monkey enclosure early on Saturday morning.
Police said Monday they had arrested two brothers aged 26 and 23 after finding the as-yet-unnamed baby monkey in their car at Appin, west of Sydney.
They later found the 10-month-old female monkey called Sofia at a nearby residence. Police appealed for information to help find Gomez, the missing male monkey.
"The sooner they're reunited as a family the better off they'll all be," Detective Inspector Brad Ainsworth told reporters.
Neither brother is alleged to have stolen the monkeys and in court Monday they pleaded guilty to dealing with the proceeds of crime. The 26-year-old was fined A$1,500 and the 23-year-old will be sentenced in January.
Park owner Matthew Radnidge told the Sydney Morning Herald the monkeys were a valuable part of the park's breeding programme and the thieves probably thought they could sell them.
The park said on its Facebook site the baby had been successfully reunited with its mother and family. The mother had stopped feeding her other twin baby out of stress from losing her baby.
"Mum cradled the baby straight into her arms and bub immediately began to feed. Early observations this morning are promising, with two bright-eyed twins observed on mum's back - so a great result."
Pygmy marmosets are native to the Amazon Basin in South America and are one of the smallest monkeys in the world. Adults weigh just 100 grams and grow to a length of 152 millimetres.
dpa