Happy Tuesday everyone.  Today we are going to look at our third Tamarin species, the Pied Tamarin.  If you remember we also discussed the Emperor and the Cotton-Top Tamarin.  The Pied Tamarin is actually one of the larger tamarin species found in South America.  With that said, they usually only grow to about 30 cm (12″) so that shows you just how small the other primates are.   Well lets grab our outdoor gear and head to the beautiful Amazon Rainforest to learn more about this little monkey.

The Pied Tamarin is an endangered species and can be found living in a restricted area of the Brazilian rainforest.  This area offers them protection from poaching and even habitat destruction.  I am sure they appreciate this little slice of heaven.  In fact, they love this habitat so much that they will become very territorial.  The Pied Tamarin protects its territory and will utilize a variety of noises and calls to ward off any unwanted visitors.  So don’t be offended if this monkey starts making a fuss as you walk by.

This particular monkey is a sociable animal that will participate in troops ranging from three to fifteen members.  Unlike other groups this family is lead by a dominant female while the majority of the group is made up of males.  The Pied Tamarin females are cruel as they could at least make the males think they are in control.   This troop of tamarins are active during the day while spending the nights in the safety of the tree tops.  This is great news for people hoping to catch a glimpse of these funny looking monkey’s.

Much like other monkey species the Pied Tamarin is an omnivore that will feed on fruits, green plants but also likes the taste of insects, reptiles, eggs and even tree sap.  Yummmy…. insects and syrup.  Since this monkey is not very large it puts them a little lower on the food chain.  As a result they have to constantly be looking out for wild cats, dogs, snakes, birds of prey and of course humans.   I am surprised they leave the protection of the tree tops at all during the day.  I think my strategy would be to hide among the trees while I outsource my food gathering to other monkey’s.

That does it for funny looking monkey Tuesday.  Make sure you come back tomorrow for another interesting Wild Fact.  Have a great day!