WCN Wildlife Conservation Network

Rosamira Guillen

Rosamira Guillen originally entered the field of wildlife protection as a landscape architect with the Barranquilla Zoo in northwest Colombia. She became Director of the zoo in 2001 and grew increasingly interested in developing partnerships with conservation organizations. She started an education campaign to highlight the plight of cotton-top tamarins, which led to a long-term collaboration with Proyecto Titi (PT). Rosamira is now PT's full-time Executive Director.

Threats

Weighing less than a pound, the cotton-top tamarin sports a shock of white hair on its head and a long tail that helps it balance in the treetops. Known as "South America's cutest monkey," the cotton-top tamarin is one of the most endangered primates in the world. The rapid destruction of its habitat by deforestation represents the greatest threat to the tamarin’s survival.

Solutions

Proyecto Tití (PT) combines field research with education initiatives and community programs. PT works closely with farmers to develop sustainable agricultural practices and improved land management techniques. Its programs focus on economic stability and present alternative income opportunities that decrease dependence on forest-product income. Hands-on educational programs foster a keen sense of pride and enthusiasm among local residents in protecting the unique biodiversity of their country.

Growing Up Tamarin

Baby cotton-tops might be easy on the eyes, but growing up tamarin is anything but simple. Elusive and little studied, not much was known about cotton-top family life even a decade ago. But thanks to Proyecto Tití’s long-term monitoring projects, we now know a lot about how tamarin family groups form, break up and rear babies.

Family groups are the key to both the individual’s and the species’ survival. PT’s staff have discovered that large groups are much more likely to have high numbers of offspring. And because they have more caregivers, baby tamarins are more likely to survive to adulthood in large groups. More

Cotton-top tamarins, Photo: Lisa Hoffner