Tamarin appeal

Tamarins - diminutive monkeys - are in serious danger of extinction in their native South America because of widespread deforestation for timber, agriculture and housing.

(Before) Caged tamarins in unhealthy conditions

For example, Colombia’s white-footed tamarin is threatened with extinction, but also suffers particularly from the illegal pet trade. Confiscated tamarins are taken to rescue centres and zoos but until recently most died quickly and never bred.

Since 2006, Durrell and teams of specialists from other European and Colombian organisations have been working to improve the lives of tamarins in Colombia, helping to build conservation capacity where it is most needed.

The collaborative approach focuses on improving captive management through teaching workshops and research, learning more about how to protect the remaining wild tamarins through field research to help develop conservation action plans and education programmes to tackle the pet trade and habitat loss.

After four management workshops for 56 participants, focusing on basic tamarin management and welfare, health and nutrition, we have already achieved a great deal; many specialist enclosures have been built and several zoos have had first successes in breeding. The mortality rate is now down to 20% from a staggering 90% just a few years ago.
 

(before) Small and poor conditions

(Now) Enriched environments

(Now) Thriving youngsters

To build on these successes we now hope to run a Colombian Tamarin Captive Breeding workshop. £2,000 is urgently needed to fund this programme, which will arm the local communities with the skills required to keep tamarins healthy and happy, and in time increase the population of these precious primates.

Please help by making a donation today. Thank you.

Want to pay via PayPal? click here »

...more about the tamarins at Durrell’s wildlife park in Jersey

Monkeys from two tamarin species - black lion tamarins and golden lion tamarins - have been bred in Jersey and returned to the wild in Brazil. We have learned a great deal about how reintroduced tamarins might be helped to adapt to the wild from the free-ranging groups that Durrell has been pioneering in the wildlife park in Jersey since 1990, when a group of five cotton-top tamarins - another species found only in Colombia - were released from their enclosure to live free in an area of woodland. Their adaptation to this new way of life was closely monitored and the experiment proved a great success.
Since then various groups of tamarin and marmoset species, including pied tamarins, have learned how to thrive in this more complex environment. Visit our animals page for more information on each species »

Watch the video "Durrell's work with tamarins (baby, wildlife park, in the field) "