New World Monkeys and marmosets and a Cotton Top or two

The National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia, has a family of Cotton Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) called Africa and Caligula, with their children Lupi, Taco, and Shyla. They are also known as the Pinche Tamarin and are very small, weighing less than half a kilogram. They are small New World monkeys - one of the smallest primates - and recognisable by the long white crest from its forehead to its shoulders. They are native to northwestern Colombia.

The Zoo also has two Common Marmosets (Callithrix iacchus) called Diego and Domingo. They are usually found on the northeast and southeast coasts of Brazil. They are also small New World monkeys.

There are also three Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys (Simia sciureus), which are generally found in the tropical forests of Central and South America. They usually live in groups of up to 500 members. Their distinctive face has earned them the nickname, Death’s Head Monkey. The ones in the National Zoo are two boys, called Gypsy and Tikan, and a female called Thelma.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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