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Cotton-top tamarin
We have a pair of cotton-top tamarins here at Newquay Zoo, Febe and Santiago. The pair have recently welcomed twins as first-time parents in Spring 2025.
Class:
Mammals
Order:
Primates
Family:
Callitrichidae
About the cotton-top tamarin
One of the most endangered primates in the world, the cotton-top tamarin is a small New World monkey native to the tropical forests of north-western Colombia, South America.
As omnivores, cotton-top tamarins eat a wide variety of food in the wild from fruits, leaves and nectar to insects, spiders and lizards.
Conservation
This tamarin is a Critically Endangered species, with deforestation being their greatest threat. They have already lost most of their habitat through forest clearing for timber, charcoal, human settlement, agricultural land and industry.
The cotton-top tamarin population within European zoos is cooperatively managed via the EAZA ex-situ breeding programme (EEP).