Wildlife Wednesdays: Endangered Cotton-Top Tamarins Receive Gift of Protected Forest

I am thrilled to report that critically endangered cotton-top tamarins in Colombia, South America, received an amazing gift just in time for the holidays — the gift of an additional area of protected forest. This tiny monkey with the wild hairdo, which guests can see when they visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is native only in Colombia, and there are fewer than 7,500 remaining.

An area of forest in Santa Catalina, Colombia, has been officially declared a protected area for the cotton-top by Cardique, a regional environmental protection agency in that country.

Proyecto Titi, a conservation organization in Colombia whose mission is to save the cotton-top tamarin, has been working to call attention to some of the last remaining forested areas for cotton-tops. The newly-protected area has been a long-term field site for the study of cotton-tops by Proyecto Titi.

Last year 900 hectares (over 2,200 acres) in the Atlántico region of Colombia was declared a protected area for cotton-tops, and now another 421 protected hectares (over 1,000 acres) has been added.

The next time you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, be sure to stop by to see the cotton-top tamarins. You can see them in a habitat in front of the Tree of Life and also at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

You can find out even more about cotton-top tamarins at www.proyectotiti.com and how the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund is helping cotton-tops, other tamarins and wildlife around the world at www.disney.com/conservation.

Wildlife Wednesdays: Endangered Cotton-Top Tamarins Receive Gift of Protected Forest by Anne Savage, Ph.D.: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog