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  • Singapore Zoo
  • Animals & Zones
  • Cotton-top tamarin

Cotton-top tamarin

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Primate Kingdom
  • Quick Facts
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Quick facts

Lifespan

LifespanAround 18 years

Diet

DietFruits, flowers, nectar, plant gums, saps and latex

Habitat

HabitatHumid to dry deciduous forests at altitudes of 400m

Range

RangeColombia

The cotton-top tamarins

Cotton-top tamarin

All in the family

Tamarins usually have twins or triplets. Dad piggybacks the babies most of the time, passing them back to mum only when the babies need to nurse. Tamarins practise cooperative rearing, so older siblings also help carry the babies.
Cotton-top tamarin

Starting a free-ranging exhibit

The tamarins’ strong family bonds are why they’re chosen as one of our free-ranging species.

To start a free-ranging exhibit, the keepers select a lushly-planted location and build a small ‘hut’ in its middle. Branches for climbing and other ‘furniture’ are added to the ‘hut’. A family group of tamarins is then housed in the ‘hut’, where they will remain for the first few days. During this time, they get used to the human traffic and noises in their new environment.

Cotton-top tamarin

Getting used to their new home

Next, keepers coax the female out of the hut to explore and scent mark her new surroundings. A few days later, the male is released while the female is confined. Guided by her scent marks, the male familiarises himself with the area. When he’s observed to be behaving calmly and staying close by, the keepers release the whole family. This is a make-or-break moment as the animals may get spooked and run off. Kudos to our keepers who’ve always managed this step smoothly.
Cotton-top tamarin

At the ‘hut’ of the family

After the release, especially for the first week, keepers continue to monitor the family closely to ensure they’re settled in. The ‘hut’ remains at the heart of their lives. It is a safe haven for them, a place where they can take refuge if something frightens them. It is also where they spend the night, a warm hearth to retire to. For their safety, the tamarins must return to their ‘hut’ by the end of day. Keepers condition them to do so by placing food there at 5:00pm.

Together, we protect wildlife

Exotic pets

Exotic pets

Each year, hundreds of illegal pets come to us in such a manner, or as confiscations. Given our limited space and resources, it is a challenge for us to take in all of them. It’s illegal to keep exotic animals like cotton-top tamarins as pets.

Thousands of wild animals are removed from the wild to meet the demand for illegal pets and most die while being smuggled across borders. Do not buy exotic pets.

The IUCN Status

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

DD

Data Deficient

Unknown risk of extinction

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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