On Sept. 19, a pied tamarin named Daphne gave birth to two healthy offspring at the Chattanooga Zoo.
Pied tamarins weigh about 1 pound and growing to about 1 foot long. They’re a part of the Callitrichidae family, which is made up of many of the world’s smallest primates, including marmosets and other tamarins.
Pied tamarins are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List as critically endangered. They can be found only in a small area of the Brazilian Rainforest, giving them one of the smallest ranges of any primate species.
Pied tamarins are endangered due to habitat destruction and degradation as the port city of Manaus continually expands. Due to rapid deforestation, urban expansion and the exotic pet trade, pied tamarins could go extinct in a matter of decades.
“Wildlife conservation is at the core of the Chattanooga Zoo,” says Lacey Hickle, general curator. “We’re working hard to help save pied tamarins from extinction and are proud of our successes with this species.”
The Chattanooga Zoo first housed pied tamarins in 2009 with the arrival of Sammy and Diddler. Although Diddler became pregnant multiple times, her pregnancies resulted in stillbirths.
In 2016, Sammy was matched with a new female, Zafra, who gave birth to Dudley and Dobby. In 2021, Dudley was matched with Daphne, who had Crash and Eddy - two males. Now Daphne and Dudley have successfully reproduced again.
Since opening La Selva Amazonica, which houses all of the zoo’s tamarin and marmoset species, other pied tamarins like Sid, Fitz, Kiedis and Vedder have lived at Chattanooga Zoo.
Currently, Carly and Belen are another breeding pair at the Chattanooga Zoo, and zoo officials are hopeful to produce more babies in the coming months.
“Pied tamarins are notoriously difficult to breed, and few zoos in the United States even have them,” says Hickle. “We’re one of six zoos in the country with pied tamarins, giving us around 25% of the U.S. pied tamarin population.”
Pied tamarins have a median life expectancy of 10 years, but they often live longer in human care. Pied tamarins are known to be very communicative, utilizing a variety of vocalizations and bodily gestures to convey information to others. They are also omnivorous, and play an important role in their ecosystem by eating pests and spreading seeds.
At the Chattanooga Zoo, the pied tamarins can be seen in the Corcovado Jungle section. The newborns can often be observed riding on the backs of Daphne, Dudley, Crash and Eddy.
Later this year, Chattanooga Zoo veterinary staff will retrieve the newborns to perform routine health checks and determine the tamarins’ genders.
To support the conservation of pied tamarins and other endangered species, visit the Chattanooga Zoo, explore membership options (www.chattzoo.org/visit/memberships) and consider making a donation at chattzoo.org.