Posts
-------------------------------------------------------
Program could boost primate numbers
SALISBURY -- Because only 350 or so remain of their kind, the cotton-top tamarins at the Salisbury Zoo tend to be a bit spoiled.
"They're like kids that only get ice cream for breakfast," Zookeeper Caleb Oliver said as an eager adult tamarin took a berry from his hand.
There are four tamarins at the zoo: an adult male and female, and two of their offspring, one of which was initially rejected by his mother. But thanks to a new reintroduction technique developed by staff, there could be many more of these endangered primates swinging on branches in zoos worldwide.
As part of the cotton-top Tamarin Species Survival Program, the zoo paired a male and female for breeding in 2006. The female became pregnant in late 2008, but she rejected her offspring because she was hand-reared -- meaning she was fed and cared for by zookeepers when she was young and therefore did not understand her responsibilities as a mother.
"She was naive about her offspring and she neglected them," said Zoo Director Joel Hamilton. "Consequently, they did not survive."
Since then, the Pittsburgh Zoo has developed a program in which they successfully placed a rejected, older infant with a surrogate parent couple who would finish raising the baby as their own.
The plan, Hamilton said, was to send Salisbury's next set of tamarin babies to Pittsburgh if the mother once again rejected her offspring. But in May, the zoo's female tamarin gave birth to two babies and only rejected one.
Research conducted by Zookeeper Debbie Graham suggested the rejected baby could be reintroduced to its biological parents if it's hand-reared until the age of 8-10 weeks, when it can feed itself. In that time period, the young tamarin was incrementally exposed to its family using what Hamilton called a "howdy," or reintroduction, cage.
"We put the howdy cage inside the display and slowly moved it closer and closer to where their food bowl is, because that's their most protected spot," Hamilton said. "Finally, once we felt everything looked good, we opened the cage. All behavioral signs were great and there was no aggression toward the hand-reared youngster."
Now, the male infant, slightly smaller than his parent-reared sister, is seemingly a member of the family. Hamilton said he sleeps with the other tamarins and plays with his sister, who sometimes assists him in moving around the display.
"His mobility and agility was a few weeks behind the parent-reared animal and his confidence level was different," he said. "We actually saw the parent-reared offspring put the hand-reared offspring on its back and jump to the tree, then let it off. The interaction is incredible."
Hamilton said the technique is management-changing information in how the species is bred and raised in the future.
"Not just for us, but in general when females reject their offspring," he said. "It's a pretty big deal and I'm pretty darn proud of the staff."
Karen Carney, a zoo docent, said the entire zoo community should be impressed by Salisbury's accomplishment.
"It shows so much devotion on the part of our zookeepers," she said.
The zoo became a participant in the SSP in 1997, when it agreed to exhibit the monkeys, which are considered one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. According to zoo officials, nearly three-fourths of the tamarin's native range in the tropical forests of Columbia has been destroyed by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. The illegal pet trade has also severely impacted the wild population.
Through Labor Day, visitors can participate in a naming contest for the female baby tamarin. Visitors can choose from three names -- Q-tip, Pocco and Lilly -- and voting is done by donating money in a jug of the name they choose. A donation station will be set up at the tamarin exhibit. The jug with the most money is the winning name.
"They're like kids that only get ice cream for breakfast," Zookeeper Caleb Oliver said as an eager adult tamarin took a berry from his hand.
There are four tamarins at the zoo: an adult male and female, and two of their offspring, one of which was initially rejected by his mother. But thanks to a new reintroduction technique developed by staff, there could be many more of these endangered primates swinging on branches in zoos worldwide.
As part of the cotton-top Tamarin Species Survival Program, the zoo paired a male and female for breeding in 2006. The female became pregnant in late 2008, but she rejected her offspring because she was hand-reared -- meaning she was fed and cared for by zookeepers when she was young and therefore did not understand her responsibilities as a mother.
"She was naive about her offspring and she neglected them," said Zoo Director Joel Hamilton. "Consequently, they did not survive."
Since then, the Pittsburgh Zoo has developed a program in which they successfully placed a rejected, older infant with a surrogate parent couple who would finish raising the baby as their own.
The plan, Hamilton said, was to send Salisbury's next set of tamarin babies to Pittsburgh if the mother once again rejected her offspring. But in May, the zoo's female tamarin gave birth to two babies and only rejected one.
Research conducted by Zookeeper Debbie Graham suggested the rejected baby could be reintroduced to its biological parents if it's hand-reared until the age of 8-10 weeks, when it can feed itself. In that time period, the young tamarin was incrementally exposed to its family using what Hamilton called a "howdy," or reintroduction, cage.
"We put the howdy cage inside the display and slowly moved it closer and closer to where their food bowl is, because that's their most protected spot," Hamilton said. "Finally, once we felt everything looked good, we opened the cage. All behavioral signs were great and there was no aggression toward the hand-reared youngster."
Now, the male infant, slightly smaller than his parent-reared sister, is seemingly a member of the family. Hamilton said he sleeps with the other tamarins and plays with his sister, who sometimes assists him in moving around the display.
"His mobility and agility was a few weeks behind the parent-reared animal and his confidence level was different," he said. "We actually saw the parent-reared offspring put the hand-reared offspring on its back and jump to the tree, then let it off. The interaction is incredible."
Hamilton said the technique is management-changing information in how the species is bred and raised in the future.
"Not just for us, but in general when females reject their offspring," he said. "It's a pretty big deal and I'm pretty darn proud of the staff."
Karen Carney, a zoo docent, said the entire zoo community should be impressed by Salisbury's accomplishment.
"It shows so much devotion on the part of our zookeepers," she said.
The zoo became a participant in the SSP in 1997, when it agreed to exhibit the monkeys, which are considered one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. According to zoo officials, nearly three-fourths of the tamarin's native range in the tropical forests of Columbia has been destroyed by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. The illegal pet trade has also severely impacted the wild population.
Through Labor Day, visitors can participate in a naming contest for the female baby tamarin. Visitors can choose from three names -- Q-tip, Pocco and Lilly -- and voting is done by donating money in a jug of the name they choose. A donation station will be set up at the tamarin exhibit. The jug with the most money is the winning name.
No comments:
Post a Comment