|
|
 |
Cotton-Top TamarinCongratulations. You've correctly chosen the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus).Aptly named for the tuft of white hair on its head, the cotton-top tamarin is only found in the wild in northwestern Colombia. The cotton-top tamarin can survive in both Colombia's dry thorn forests and wet tropical forests, where it maintains a steady diet of fruits and insects. The tamarin weighs only 400-700 grams (about 1-.1.5 pounds). Its body and tail (the tail is used to balance during climbing and jumping) measures in total about 46 centimeters (18 inches). While only one female in a troop gives birth, all of the tamarins care for the infants, in a system where parental care is learned rather than instinctive. Before the species was declared endangered and banned from exportation in 1973, the cotton-top tamarin was threatened by its heavy use in biomedical research. Now its biggest threats are deforestation, and its popularity in the local Colombian pet trade. Continue: name animal #3. Don't Blame Your Pet | Ask the Behaviorists | Name that Animal Resources | Transcript | Animal Hospital Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |