Sticky situation: Durrell’s last ditch attempt to save tamarins in captivity

Monday 24 March 2014

Two black lion tamarins – Sticky and Bert - have arrived at Durrell, in a move which its hoped could stop the critically endangered species dying off in captivity.

There are only 15 left in zoo populations in Europe, but most are now related to each other. So Sticky and Bert, who have come over from Belfast and Chester Zoos, are genetically vital for the future of the captive population – if they don’t breed they are likely to die out altogether outside of their native Brazil.

Durrell keeper Rachel Cowen said: "We have just created a new pair of Black lion tamarins, with the hope that they may have viable offspring in the future to help bolster the captive population of this endangered primate. The initial mix went well, but it’s very early days.”

The species was actually thought to be extinct altogether for 65 years until animals were rediscovered in 1970. But despite efforts to re-plant areas of the Brazilian rainforest to connect fragmented populations, they are in severe trouble in the wild. There’s thought to be only 1,000 animals left, spread through 11 isolated forests in the Morro do Diabo State Park in São Paulo.

Over the last decade Islanders have helped plant more than 20,000 trees in the rainforest by collecting drinks cans for the Trust’s “Cans for corridors” campaign. For every 50 cans collected Durrell has planted a tree to help link the isolated forests so that different groups of tamarins can mix and breed.

Rick Jones from Durrell says it’s important to keep zoo populations as insurance: “If there were to be a fire in the Morro do Diabo State Park, we could lose the entire species in one go.”