Adelaide Zoo
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Adelaide Zoo’s newest Cotton-top Tamarin monkey visits the vet

Who’s small, has the greatest hair going around and is in tip-top health?

Peppa the five-year-old Cotton-top Tamarin who recently had her first visit with the Adelaide Zoo vet team!

Adelaide Zoo cotton-top tamarin
One of our Cotton-top Tamarin troop

During a routine check-up, Peppa was given a physical examination which included having her limbs, digits, eyes and teeth checked.

While Peppa was under general anaesthetic, the vet team also performed other routine procedures such as x-rays and blood draws as well as testing her for tuberculosis.

Adelaide Zoo veterinarian Oliver Funnell says Peppa was given a clean bill of health and should have no issues coming out quarantine in a few weeks.

“Peppa’s health looks great,” says Oliver.

“Physically, she appears very healthy and I see no reason why she couldn’t exit quarantine as normal.”

This little primate has been in routine quarantine since the end of September this year after arriving from Halls Gap Zoo in Victoria.

She is joined by ten-year-old Adelaide Zoo-born male Cotton-top Tamarin Gomez, who will join her in her new exhibit once she’s finished her quarantine period.

Keepers hope down the track the pair might produce the pitter-patter of tiny tamarin feet!

You’d never miss one of these guys in a crowd… Cotton-top Tamarins are named after their distinct white crest of long hair on the top of their heads.

Living in family groups, only the dominant pair will breed with twins being a regular occurrence in tamarin society.

Not to worry though, the parents receive lots of help with the entire tamarin family caring for and playing with the youngsters.

These tamarins usually inhabit the middle layer of the forest canopy and feed on insects and plant materials such as fruit, leaves and gums.

At Adelaide Zoo, keepers make sure they have a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables and insects, as well as a special primate “cake” to ensure they receive all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Sadly, Cotton-top Tamarins are a critically endangered species with only around 6,000 left in the lowland forests of Colombia, the only place in the world they are now found.