Primate Update E-Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 7, Part 2

PPS INTERNSHIP

Introducing Caroline:
We are very pleased to announce the arrival of our newest Resident Intern. Caroline has been serving in the Peace Corps Panama as an Environmental Conservation Agent in Panama for the past two years. She has a B.A. in biology, and spent 4 years doing animal care in a Zoo setting. Additionally, she has experience working as a Vet tech. Although she has worked with many different animals in the past, this is her first experience caring for primates. Caroline arrived on July 1st, and is already well on her way to becoming a wonderful caregiver. Already, the monkeys are very calm and comfortable around her, as though she were an old friend.

Caroline writes:

I would like to… officially thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a member of such a valuable team. I am enthusiastic to get to know each and everyone of you. Though, I don’t know any of you on a personal level I believe anyone who cares for the well being of any animal big or small must have a kind heart. Anyone that seeks out what is best for an animal, especially for the exotic species (i.e. primates) whose existence is becoming threatened and endangered in all parts of the world, is someone who is worth getting to know and working with.


From working in Peace Corps Panama, I have acquired patience …(try riding on a school bus aka Diablo Rojo for 2 hours stuck between two sweaty men, it’s not easy.) I am also accustomed to working with different cultures/lifestyles. I am an open minded, hard working individual who is motivated and ready to get the job done. I always try to have an optimistic outlook on life (glass half full kind of girl, not half empty). I will bring a fresh pair of eyes to whatever project lays ahead…


One of my main goals at the sanctuary is to grow as an individual learning about the primates through the daily care in which I will provide. While I worked at Brevard Zoo, I held tours through the primate exhibits and taught the visitors the basics about the primates but I had always wanted more. I wanted to care for the animals and now given the opportunity to do so I am prepared to give it all I’ve got. Thank you PPS

Welcome Caroline, we are so happy you have you here!

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Special Topic- Intern Simon:
Feeding ecology and behaviour of the genus Saguinus; by Paul A. Garber

Tamarins of the genus Saguinus are New World monkeys found in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Brazil. There are 11 known Saguinus species—more than any other New World monkey genus—and within those 11, there are 29 known sub-species. The species are further sorted into three categories: hairy-faced, mottle-faced (or spotted-faced), and bare-faced. Here at PPS, we house two species of Saguinus tamarins: Cotton-top Tamarins (which are bare-faced) and Saddle-back Tamarins (which are hairy-faced). This chapter explores relationships between diet, ranging patterns and territorial defense among this genus of tamarins.

Unlike many other primate species, Saguinus males and females are roughly the same size, and that size is small: between 320 to 564 grams. Just to provide some context, there are about 454 grams in one pound. So these tiny primates weigh less than a pound and a half. As a result of their small stature, limited gut volume, and rapid rate of food passage, tamarins rely on a diet high in nutritional quality and energy abundance. They get this from fruits, gums, and insects.

A Saddleback Tamarin 

examines nectar filled 

Ginger Flowers

Fruits and nectar are a high-energy resource for tamarins, providing carbohydrates and sugars. Likewise, gums provide a source of sugar as well. However, unlike marmosets, tamarins lack the longer lower incisors to extract gums. They must depend on either natural damage to the bark or wood-boring insects to be able to access the gum. Certain gums also supply calcium. Interestingly, pregnant and lactating females were found to dominate gum sources. In a study of wild Saddle-back Tamarins, only the sole breeding female was observed to scent-mark gum licks. This is a testament to the value of gums as a calcium source for tamarin mothers.

Regarding prey, grasshoppers and crickets are the main insects that tamarins consume. Since insects do not really want to be eaten, tamarins must rely on their stealth and quick reflexes when hunting. Hunting is not a cooperative effort for them—they hunt individually, not in groups. Group members will stray at least one meter away from the others in their troop and begin their forage by turning over leaves, peaking inside knotholes, and poking around palm fronds, quickly pouncing on any unfortunate critters that are upturned and delivering a swift bite to the head. These insects provide a high amount of protein for a small-bodied tamarin. Whereas a larger-bodied monkey like a capuchin would have to eat many insects—and expend vast amounts of energy in doing so—a tamarin gets the requisite dose of protein from just one or two grasshoppers. So size really does matter, in this case small size is more advantageous.

Relative to their size, tamarin home ranges are quite large, ranging anywhere from 8-50+ hectares. And within those boundaries, they travel from one- to two-thousand meters a day—pretty impressive when you consider how small these primates are. Because their home ranges are so large, it is not uncommon for two separate tamarin troops to have home ranges that overlap. Territorial battles between rival groups do occur, and can involve both hostile vocalizations and physical combat. But field studies have shown that battles are only rarely started as a result of boundary encroachment. Large fruit trees within the overlapping zone of two neighboring groups are the more frequent cause of conflict. When boundary areas do not contain major food resources the neighboring tamarin groups adopt more of a “live and let live” attitude. Only when there are valuable scarce commodities worth defending do tamarin groups wage war.

-Rylands, A.B. Marmosets and Tamarins. Systematics, Behavior, and Ecology. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1993.

"Although other animals may be different from us, this does not make them less than us." 
 — Marc Bekoff in Animals Matter


We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s E-Newsletter. Thank you for your support of our life saving work. Because of compassionate people, the Sanctuary can continue to provide a place of peace and happiness for 72 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and smugglers. Here they can heal, form families, and live free from exploitation.



This Blog and its content is copyright of Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc.—
© Pacific Primate Sanctuary, Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.
Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:
you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material
You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.