Emperor tamarin

The range of the emperor tamarin spans three countries; it is found in northwestern Brazil, southeastern Peru, and northwestern Bolivia. It lives in the Amazonian tropical forests where it occupies the lower and middle canopy.

Only the dominant female reproduces. She then mates with several males in the group. After 140 – 145 days of gestation, she gives birth to 1 or 2 young. Several males, usually two, assist the female at the time of birth, taking charge of the young and grooming them. The young are particularly vulnerable at birth, weighing only 35 g, and are carried by their parents during the first 6 to 7 weeks. The female regularly lets other group members care for the young so she can rest after feeding them. Other members of the group also participate in the upbringing of the young. They are weaned after two to three months and reach sexual maturity between 16 and 20 months. The lifespan is 10 to 15 years.

The emperor tamarin’s diet consists of fruits, flowers, small vertebrates, insects, and sap. Depending on the season, the proportion of these different resources will not be the same. During the rainy season (from November to May), it spends 95% of its time eating fruits. During the dry season, it dedicates only 41% to this, versus 52% of its time spent consuming nectar.

Its light weight and flat palms allow it to have good grip at the tops of trees and reach the ends of branches. In this way, it can catch food that is harder to access for larger species. Unlike other species of small monkeys, they do not have teeth adapted for digging grooves in tree trunks. Only with its claws can it scratch the trunk and extract sap. Frequently, it is content to just lick the sap that flows naturally from the trunk or after another species has passed by.

Arboreal and diurnal, the emperor tamarin lives in mixed groups of 2 to 15 individuals led by a dominant female. Usually, the oldest female controls the group. She is the only one to reproduce, mating with several males in the group, and gives birth to twins. The whole group helps raise the young.

It is not uncommon to see the emperor tamarin associating with the Spix’s saddle-back tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) to share their territory. Each species occupies different levels within the canopy, with the emperor tamarin spending most of its time more than 10 meters above the ground, while the saddle-back tamarin is only found in lower strata, at 10 meters or less. To recognize each other, each species can distinguish between the call of a member of its own species and that of a stranger. This allows them to coordinate their movements without seeing each other. It has been observed that the emperor tamarin can maintain this relationship with multiple tamarin species. This allows both species to find food more efficiently and to increase vigilance to better protect themselves against predators.

The emperor tamarin is not currently considered a threatened species. Its populations are still abundant throughout its entire geographic range.

However, the most remote parts of its habitat are beginning to be impacted by the presence of humans who destroy forests for wood, agriculture, or the construction of roads and dwellings. This species is also potentially subject to the animal trade.