Cotton-Top Tamarin
They are small-bodied and easily recognized by the characteristic fan of long, white hair on their heads. They have very fine hair on their black-skinned faces such that their faces appear naked. They are characterized by their facial appearances. They have mottled gray-brown shoulders, back, and rump while their stomach and limbs are white. They have reddish-brown hair on the back of their thighs and base of their tail but the rest of the tail is gray-brown-black
Habitat
They are an endemic to northwestern Colombia, these primates typically live in secondary forests as well as edges of tropical rainforests of the region. However, the Cotton-top tamarins may occur in a wide range of habitats, including wetland tropical forests, moist woodland forests and dry thorn forest savannahs.
Diet
As omnivorous creatures, they will consume a wide variety of food from fruits, sap, blossoms, leaves and nectar to insects, spiders, lizards, small tree frogs and eggs of birds. Fruit forms the main part of their diet and insects are also eaten. They use every layer of the rainforest, even descending to the ground to hunt grasshoppers.
Breeding
They have a monogamous breeding system, which means that one male mates with one female exclusively. Breeding typically occurs between April and May. Gestation period lasts for 4 - 5 months, yielding 1 - 2 babies. Both parents display parental care, usually sharing responsibilities: while the mother cleans the infants, the father has to carry and groom them. Additionally, older siblings help parents rear new generation. However, infants prefer being carried by their parents. At 2 - 5 weeks old, the babies begin moving on their own. At 4 - 7 weeks old, they start taking solid food. Independence is reached within 15 - 25 weeks, while the age of reproductive maturity is typically 2 years old.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classified as critically endangered (CR), the total population of Cotton-top tamarins is 6,000 individuals, including approximately 2,000 mature individuals. Its numbers continue to decrease. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, 20,000-30,000 individuals were exported to the United States for biomedical research
Threats
They occur in an area of intensive colonization and forest loss. It was estimated that 75% of the original distribution of them had been cleared for agriculture and pasture, and that the remainder of its range was represented by small isolated forest patches along with its main stronghold, the Paramillo National Natural Park of 460,000 ha. It was reported that the threats regarding the construction of two hydroelectric dams, Urra I and Urra II, on the Ríos Sinu and San Jorge, in the south of its range. Urra II is sited within the Paramillo National Natural Park and is expected to flood more than 54,000 ha of primary and secondary forest, within what is considered to be the last major stronghold for the species.
The three protected areas where they occur have lost a significant portion of their forests. Paramillo has lost approximately 42% of its original forested habitat and Montes de Maria and Los Colorados lost 70 and 71%, respectively. To date, almost 200,000 ha of the original forested areas within protected boundaries of the parks and reserves dedicated to Cotton-top Tamarin conservation efforts have been lost. This suggests, therefore, that there is less than 2,600 km² that will be protected in perpetuity for Cotton-top Tamarins by the Colombian Ministerio del Medio Ambiente. Although these areas are protected, they continue to suffer from the pressure of the growing local populations to extract resources or clear areas for agricultural activities.
Conservation
They have been legally protected in Colombia since 1969. Major threat in the past was export for the pet trade, zoos and biomedical research, but export was banned in 1974. There are three protected areas where Saguinus oedpipus occurs: Paramillo National Natural Park; Los Colorados Fauna and Flora Sanctuary; and Reserva Forestal Cerro de Coraza-Monte de Marja. They were also introduced to Tayrona National Natural Park in 1974.
Proyecto Tití, a conservation programme for the Cotton-top Tamarin in Colombia, was established in 1987 to begin the first long-term field study on this species in collaboration with Colombian biologists, educators, NGO's and government authorities. Initial research focused on understanding the factors influencing reproductive strategies of Cotton-top Tamarins, but it quickly grew into a comprehensive conservation programme including educational efforts, capacity building, training Colombian students, development of economic alternatives, and the development of an agricultural training programme to decrease the pressure on the forest by local communities.
In addition to the studies of Cotton-top Tamarins in the field, there has been a major and comprehensive assessment of the remaining habitat within the historic distribution of the Cotton-top Tamarin in Colombia, along with surveys to assess population numbers remaining. This information has provided important insights into the long-term viability of this population given the current rate of habitat destruction.