TINY TAMARIN: A thumb-sized white-lipped tamarin, dubbed "Davy" by San Diego Zoo nursery supervisor Joann Thomas, is being raised by humans in the intensive care section of the newly remodeled Starkey Primate Nursery because his mother failed to care for him properly. The month-old member of the marmoset family is bottle fed and lives in an incubator where he clings to a clean paint roller instead of clinging to mother's fur. Davy can be seen by visitors to the Children's Zoo, which contains the Starkey Primate Nursery. Tamarins are the smallest of the primate order, weighing less than two pounds (900 grams) and shorter than one foot (300 millimeters) when full grown. Tamarins are native to South America, with various species found in limited ranges throughout Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. They are active, agile animals with high-pitched, bird-like calls. Tamarins eat fruit, insects, bird eggs, leaves, shoots, buds, moss and flowers. Their status and numbers remaining in the wild are unknown because they are difficult to observe in their forest habitat. However, most authorities consider the tamarin to be threatened by the continued destruction of that habitat.
Photo measures 8 x 10 inches.
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