Lake Superior Zoo Welcomes Endangered Baby Cotton-Top Tamarin Monkey
Great news from Lake Superior Zoo with another baby primate born at the zoo. The baby is part of the critically endangered cotton-top tamarins which are one of the world's most endangered primates. These tiny little monkeys are absolutely fascinating as they seem to be looking right through you when you visit their exhibit.
The parents of the new baby are Mira (mom) and Deno (Dad). They are both doing a great job in sharing the responsibility of caring for their new offspring and the baby can often be spotted clinging to dad's back. Zoo keepers have also witnessed them grooming and both taking excellent care of the baby.
Lake Superior Zoo’s Chief Executive Officer, Haley Hedstrom said in a press release
Being a part of the Species Survival Plan Program is a crucial piece of accomplishing our mission here at the Lake Superior Zoo.A birth like this is quite an extraordinary event and definitely something to celebrate. With cotton-top tamarins being critically endangered, we are proud to be a part of the efforts to hopefully someday be able to grow the population in the wild.
There are only 35 breeding pairs of this species in AZA-accredited zoos in the world, and one of them is right here at our very own Lake Superior Zoo. The cotton-top tamarin has been on the critically endangered list since 2008. A survey in 2020 estimated there are only about 2000 mature tamarins left in the wild. The greatest threat to this species is deforestation, but they are also victims of the pet trade.
You can now visit the happy family in the Zoo’s Primate Conservation Center. Initially, zoo staff put up paper covering their windows to allow the parents time to adjust to caring for the new baby. The staff slowly cut away the paper and now the family is in full view. The baby's gender is unknown currently and a name has not been chosen at this time. For more information, please visit LSZooDuluth.org or call 218-730-4500.