Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A few weeks ago, the tamarin monkey family at the North Florida Wildlife Center welcomed another baby. Executive Director Ryan Reines is beyond excited that the home they are giving to the tamarin parents, Elsa and Einstein, has made them happy and safe enough to bear young and engage in raising not one but two babies. Before being transferred to the Wildlife Center, Elsa and Einstein had always abandoned their young after birth. The newest family member, whom the staff have named Eden, has bonded well with its parents and joins a thriving older sibling named Echo, who was born in January of this year.
In the wild, these squirrel-sized primates eat primarily tree sap, which they supplement with scavenged fruit, nectar and insects. Sadly, the very small area of dry tropical forest where cotton-topped tamarins live in northwest Colombia, South America, has been shrinking dramatically due to logging, agricultural activity and urban expansion. In addition to extreme loss of habitat, these monkeys have suffered heavy poaching for both the illegal pet trade and biomedical research. For decades the number of cotton-topped tamarins has plummeted until only a few thousand of these primates still live in the wild.
For this reason, the conservation status of cotton-topped tamarins is listed as critically endangered, and efforts are needed to save the rare species from the brink of extinction. In addition to protecting habitat, policing the pet trade and conducting awareness campaigns, the survival of cotton-topped tamarins depends also on breeding programs carried out at zoological institutions and private sanctuaries.
The Wildlife Center's recent acquisition of a breeding pair of these rare monkeys is part of this effort. The tamarin family's home in Lamont includes a heated indoor space that connects to an outdoor area full of natural vegetation and plenty of tree limbs for climbing.
“We're really excited to have them,” says Executive Director Ryan Reines. “One of the most fascinating things about them is they are specialized sap feeders.”
To eat sap, cotton-topped tamarin monkeys use their long, slender fingers to dig into holes that other animals have already gouged into trees. The bodies of both the males and females are marked with long fur that is rusty brown on the back, black on the face and pure white on the belly and head. Their common name comes from the white crest which runs across the head from ear to ear.
Cotton-topped tamarin monkeys are very social and friendly. As such, Einstein, Elsa, Echo and Eden are not shy with visitors and enjoy interacting with a cheerful chorus of whistling trills and squeaks. To meet, watch and hear the amazing vocalizations of these very rare monkeys, plan your visit at www.NorthFloridaWildlife.org.
Funds from the center's ticket sales support a number of conservation efforts around the world.
Special pricing and frightfully fun activities are on offer at the center's upcoming Halloween Bats, Beasts & Boos event on Saturday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Enjoy free goat feeding, animal encounters, local food/drink, free face painting, trick-or-treating and more.
Regular hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Parking is free.
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IN THE FEATURED PHOTO: Eden, the newest tamarin monkey born at the North Florida Wildlife Center, clings to mom Elsa's back. Photo Courtesy of NFWC.
