Butterflies for Africa has a family of Cotton-top Tamarin monkeys as part of a breeding programme. The enclosure enables guests to interact with the monkeys during guided tours on certain days at 11:30 and 13:30.Butterflies for Africa in no way encourages or supports the keeping of any species of monkeys as pets. These social animals require the interaction of a troop as well as a specialised diet and enriching natural environment for their wellbeing. Our enclosure is designed to mimic their natural environment as closely as possible. Whilst the monkeys may approach visitors we do not allow any visitors or staff to touch them. Please note we cannot allow anyone with any contegeous illness access to the monkey enclosure.
The cotton-top tamarin gets its name from its shock of long white hair which stretches from its forehead to its shoulders. It is called the “Liszt Monkey” in German due to its supposed resemblance to the composer Franz Liszt. Typically, its back is brownish while the inside of the arms and legs is white. Cotton top tamarins have modified claws instead of nails on all their fingers and toes - these enable them to grip branches and are useful grooming tools. Their tails (unlike those of the spider monkeys) are not prehensile so cannot grip, but are used to balance during climbing and jumping. They are very small, weighing only 400 to 600 grams. Their life span is 10 to 15 years.
A family group of cotton-top tamarins is the definition of cooperation when it comes to raising infants. Everyone lends a hand. The parents, brothers, and sisters all take turns carrying the young. Adults, brothers, and sisters all share food with the babies. For communication, cotton-top tamarins whistle, chirp and call - their alarm calls can be very loud.
Cotton-top tamarins live naturally only in Colombia, in northern South America. They are one of the most endangered primates in the world, owing to the clearing of their forest habitat (more than three quaters of their original habitat has been deforested) and population depletion from animal trade, as such, they've become a national symbol of conservation for Columbia. Currently there are more of these monkeys in captivity than the 2000 to 3000 cotton-top tamarins existing in the wild - this population is continuing to decline. We hope that our monkey house will play a part in helping to conserve these monkeys by establishing a breeding programme and by making the public aware of their plight.
