Size: Weight; 260-380g. Length; 20-25 cm (head and body)

Habitat and Distribution: Tropical rainforests and open woodlands in north-west Colombia.

Age: Average of 13 years but up to 25 years in captivity.

Groups and Breeding: This species lives in groups of 3-18 individuals, although normally groups range up to 9 individuals. Groups consist of a dominant, monogamous breeding pair, their young of that year and a few more subordinate/ young ‘helpers’ (not necessarily related) that assist the pair in rearing their young. Females usually breed at 18 months, with a gestation of 140 days. This means that they often breed twice a year, giving birth to non-identical twins.

Diet: The diet of the Cotton-top consists mostly of insects and fruit with some gum and sap included.

• Cotton-top Tamarins have specific calls for different types of food.
• Males expend more effort in raising the young than the females. They assist during the birth and carry the young at all times except when the young are feeding. This can be heavy work as the 2 young are born weighing 30% of the mother’s weight.
• A survey taken in 1992 of students in Colombia showed that 90% of all students had no idea that these tamarins were found only in Colombia and 70% had never even visited the rainforest (even though it was only 3 miles away) believing it to be dangerous.
• When neighbouring groups come into contact with each other, rather than fight, they show their bottoms at each other to mark their territory!
• In Germany, this tamarin is known as a ‘Litzt monkey’ due to its resemblance to the composer Franz Litzt.
• It is thought that there may be as much as double the amount of Cotton-top Tamarins in captivity as there is in the wild.
• Tamarins are important seed dispersers in the rainforest; seeds that have been excreted are much more likely to germinate, but in turn it is thought that swallowing large seeds may help the tamarins rid themselves of internal parasites.