Page 72 - World of Animals - Issue #30

Endangered

Cotton-top tamarin

The cotton-top tamarin is one of the world’s most
COTTON-TOP TAMARIN
Saguinus oedipus endangered primates. In the most recent IUCN Red
Class Mammalia
List assessment in 2008, their listing was upgraded
from Endangered to Critically Endangered, as their
population is now rapidly decreasing. There are only
Territory Colombia 6,000 individuals left in the wild, and only one third of
Diet Fruit, gum, insects
Lifespan 13 years these are mature adults capable of breeding and driving
Adult weight 400g (14oz)
Conservation status future population growth. These charismatic New
World monkeys desperately need their depleted forest

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED habitat to be protected if they are to avoid extinction.

The causes

of extinction

Habitat loss
Colombia is losing forest at an incredible rate, with five

per cent of tropical habitat being destroyed annually.
Although it may not sound much, that equates to an
astonishing 4,000 square kilometres (1,544 square
miles) of land lost each year. It has also been estimated
that as much as 75 per cent of original habitat has been
felled to make way for agricultural land.
Capture for research
Historically, cotton-top tamarins were hunted and
captured for display in zoos and for use in experiments.
In the early 1970s, up to 40,000 tamarins were exported
from Colombia, 14,000 of which were transported to the
US for use in laboratory tests. Cotton-top tamarins are
particularly susceptible to spontaneously developing a
common type of colon cancer. For this reason, they were
extensively studied before all trade was outlawed in 1974.

Pet trade
Cotton-top tamarins’ small size and unusual appearance
have made them desirable within the illegal pet trade.
Although capture for the biomedical industry has now
been suspended, capture for trafficking is still prevalent,

although due to the nature of the trade, an accurate
estimate of how many tamarins are captured and sold
cannot be made.

What you can do…
WWW.PROYECTOTITI.COM
The Wildlife Conservation Network is aiming to stop the felling of trees in the
cotton-top tamarin’s habitat. Young trees are cut down to make fences for
agricultural land, but need replacing every year. This project raises money to
manufacture fence posts using recycled plastic bottles, which last much longer.

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