In Otter News: Cotton-Top Tamarin family

In Otter News: The Cotton Top Tamarin

Learn about the Cotton Top Tamarin's at the Lake Superior Zoo.

The Lake Superior Zoo is home to some of the world’s most tiny and endangered primates- the Cotton-Top Tamarins. “There’s only about 2000 of them left in the wild. And they are part of a breeding program in zoos called the Species Survival Plan,” Emily Perala of the Lake Superior Zoo tells us.

The SSP is “kind of like a matchmaking service based on genetics.” They’ve been really successful in this program.

Mom Mira and Dad Dino welcome their baby Echo in August. The baby can be seen clinging to Dad’s back. One of the animal’s most notable features is their wild hair: “In parts of Europe, they can be known as Liszt monkeys after Franz Liszt, who was a big composer that had a really crazy hair, apparently.”

And there might be more zoo babies in the future. “We are just waiting and seeing if these guys are interested in breeding some more and hopefully they will have success in the future as well,” Emily explains.