Cotton Top Tamarin

A group may consist of a dominant pair, their young of the year and a number of unrelated subordinates.


Cotton-Top tamarins obtain the water they need by licking leaves that are wet with rain or dew, rather than expose themselves to predation by venturing down onto the forest floor.

  • Least Concern
  • Near Threatened
  • Vulnerable
  • Endangered
  • Critically Endangered
  • Extinct in the Wild
  • Extinct

Sadly only 2% of Columbia’s rainforest remains. When not feeding, much time is spent in social grooming. Like other tamarins, they run their clawed digits through each other’s fur, examining it, and use their teeth, lips and tongue to pick off particles. Cotton-top tamarin groups do not represent extended families. A group may consist of a dominant pair, their young of the year and a number of unrelated subordinates.

Key Facts

Family:
Callitritchidae
Diet:
Fruit, insects, tender vegetation, small vertebrate, bird eggs.
Life Span:
up to 25 years
Distribution:
Only found in Columbia. Remnant populations are small and are restricted to a few isolated forest fragments.
Did you know?
Cotton-top tamarins mark their territory with scent by sliding their rear ends, or by rubbing the scent on the bottom of their feet.

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