Cotton-top tamarins are critically endangered small primates whose zoo welfare depends on appropriate family group structure, enrichment supporting their complex social lives, and climate management for this tropical species.
Cotton-top tamarin welfare in zoos is closely tied to the quality of their social group structure and the complexity of their living environment. Their cooperative breeding system means that family groups with multiple adults — including non-breeding helpers — provide the richest social environment and the most natural framework for tamarin welfare. Pair housing without helpers is suboptimal for both welfare and reproduction. Enclosure complexity that replicates forest canopy structure — multi-level networks of branches, ropes, and platforms at varying heights — allows the rapid, agile locomotion that is central to tamarin activity. Foraging enrichment that hides food in complex locations activating gum-scraping and insect-searching behaviours is important for occupying natural daily time budgets. Chemical communication through scent marking is a fundamental tamarin behaviour that should be facilitated by appropriate substrate surfaces. The conservation significance of zoo cotton-top populations, given the severe threat to wild Colombian populations, gives their welfare management particular importance for species survival.