Abstract

ARANGO GUERRA, Heidi Liliana; BALLESTEROS RUIZ, Sandy; GARCIA CASTILLO, Francisco  and  BURITICA, Santiago. First rehabilitation and reintroduction process of a cotton top tamarins group (Saguinus oedipus). Rev. Lasallista Investig. [online]. 2013, vol.10, n.1, pp.49-61. ISSN 1794-4449.

Introduction. Cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) is one of the 25 most threatened primates in the world. The loss of habitats, the hunting activities, the widening of the agricultural and livestock frontier, the capture for the illegal pet market and their restricted distribution in the Northwest of Colombia are the most important reasons for such a threat. In addition, there are no reports of rehabilitation or re-introduction of this species into their natural habitat. Objective. The behavioral patterns of a cotton top tamarins group taken to the Centro de Atención y Valoración de Fauna Silvestre (CAV) in Montería, Córdoba, were evaluated for their rehabilitation and reintroduction into wild life. Methodology. A group of cotton top tamarins was subjected to a rehabilitation program performed in three phases followed by their release and tracing. Each phase was evaluated by the use of the ad libitum method and an exploratory sampling as observation methods. Results. The most frequent activities during the rehabilitation process were those related to foraging, surveillance and rest. The least frequent were aggression, elimination and marking. These, at the same time, had frequency variations according to the ages of the individuals. The grooming activity was important within the social behavior of the group, due to the fact that it had a positive correlation with the hierarchical status of the individual. In the first phase products such as fruits, vegetables and some sub products common in human feeding were used. Nevertheless, in phases 2 and 3 there was a higher preference for wild fruits, insects and small vertebrae (lizards and frogs). Conclusions. The soft release was a tool that favored the rehabilitation process. The re-introduced group responded successfully to the post-release stress.

Keywords : behaviors; rehabilitation; ethograms; reintroduction.

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