May 28, 2006 10:07 am US/Central
CBS 2 At Brookfield Zoo: Cotton-Topped Tamarin
by Susan Carlson
(CBS)
Ever heard of a cotton-top tamarin?
It's not a T-shirt.
It's the subject of this week's visit to Brookfield Zoo.
Here's CBS 2's Susan Carlson.
S: Greetings from Tropic World here at Brookfield Zoo. I'm here with my friend, Andre Copeland. Always nice to see you.
A: Nice to see you Susan.
S: And you are going to introduce us to some very cute little white-topped friends. Tell us about the cotton-top tamarin.
A: Well, cotton-topped tamarins are small monkeys that live in South America and have a very restricted range in Colombia. Here in Tropic World South America, we have four. We have the mother and father, who are both 11 years old, and they are named Zena, ... and her husband, so to speak, is Stubby.
S: And now are those their children? Are they living in a little family group here?
A: They are living in a family group, and in their natural environment, you can have groups of up to 15, but you're only going to have one breeding pair who'd be joined by their little ones. Now, the little ones will help the mother and father care for the other siblings, carrying the young siblings as they go from tree to tree foraging. And here we have to twins. … And they are both 7 years old.
S: Wouldn't it be nice if the human big siblings took after them? Tell us about their unusual appearance. That white hair on the top. That actually has a purpose.
A: It sure does. Most of the time when they are calm, that white hair stays close to their head going towards the back of the body. But if they are threatened, these animals will stand straight up. Their hair stands straight up like a Mohawk. They try to make themselves look bigger so that they can ward off any potential predators.
S: They don't look to scary to me. They look really cuddly. What about their tails? Now, they're not used like a typical monkey tail.
A: Well, they're not prehensile, so they cannot use their tails to grab and hold on to branches, but their tails are very important because they help them balance as they're jumping from branch to branch and climbing trees.
S: And they're enjoying a hard-boiled egg for breakfast here this morning. You can meet them in person here at Tropic World.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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