How long does it take? Reliable personality assessment based on common behaviour in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)
Individual variation in behaviour has been shown to have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. Research on animal personality has therefore received considerable attention, yet some methodological issues remain unresolved. We tested whether assessing personality by coding common behaviours is as time-consuming method as some researchers believe it to be. Altogether, 300 hours of observation were collected […]
Leontopithecus rosalia
species monograph
The Development of an Operant Conditioning Training Program for New World Primates at the Bronx Zoo
This article describes the development of an operant conditioning training program for 17 species of New World primates at the Bronx Zoo. To apply less invasive techniques to husbandry protocols, the study introduced behaviors-hand feeding, syringe feeding, targeting, scale and crate training, and transponder reading-for formal training to 86 callitrichids and small-bodied cebids housed in […]
Sleep quantitation in common marmoset, cotton top tamarin and squirrel monkey by non-invasive actigraphy
Sleep quantitation data on the Neotropical primate species, apart from the squirrel monkey, are still sparse. As such, we have quantitated sleep in the common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) reared in one primate facility simultaneously, by non-invasive actigraphy. The range in total sleep time/24h measured for […]
Adaptation of captive-bred cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) to a natural environment
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430110206.abs The reintroduction to the wild of captive-born individuals could have an important role in saving some endangered species from extinction. However, such individuals may not have the necessary skills to survive in the wild. In order to assess their locomotor and orientation capabilities in a natural environment, a family of five captive-bred cotton-top […]
Dynamics of intrafamily aggression and social reintegration in lion tamarins
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430080109.abs Intrafamily aggression poses a critical problem in the captive maintenance of callitrichid social groups. Group cohesion and individual health is threatened by aggressive altercations. This paper discusses several aspects of lion tamarin aggression. To investigate the demography of intrafamily aggression in golden lion tamarins, we reviewed instances of family-group aggression from our facilities […]
Responses of Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus Oedipus) to Faecal Scents of Predators and Non-predators
The responses of 56 cotton-top tamarin monkeys (Saguinus Oedipus) to the faecal scent of predators and non-predators were recorded to determine if there was a differential response. Methylene chloride extracts were prepared from the faeces of suspected predators (margay and tayra) and non-predators (capybara and paca) known to co-exist with the tamarins in the wild. […]
The humane control of captive marmoset and tamarin populations
In zoo and laboratory colonies of marmosets and tamarins (Callitrichidae) there has been an increasing need to adopt breeding control methods. In zoos, this need has been driven by a growth in populations. In laboratories, increased interest in control options has followed from the requirement to improve welfare by housing potential breeding animals together. Progestagen-containing […]
Why do captive pied tamarins give birth during the day?
Diurnal primates typically give birth at night, when it is presumed that they are safer at a very vulnerable time, and this is reflected in an overwhelmingly nocturnal pattern of delivery in most species of Callitrichidae. However, over half (51.1%) of 88 births to pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor) at Durrell Wildlife Park occurred during the […]