In the Spanish village of La Linea de la Concepción, a rare cotton-top tamarin was confiscated by the local authorities. They responded to a report that someone had been bitten by ‘a monkey’. SEPRONA took care of the animal, which turned out to be a critically endangered cotton-top tamarin.
The animal was quickly brought to our rescue centre in Spain, where it was placed in quarantine.
Extremely thin
At AAP, we have named the animal Tam. Our vets have also been able to examine her. Unfortunately, they concluded that she is extremely thin and about one or two years old.
Tam’s coat is also very thin and lacks shine, indicating that she has not been well fed and has been very poorly cared for.
In addition, she has several small deformities in the bones of her arms, possibly due to a lack of sunlight and therefore vitamin D.
Video: cotton-top tamarin Tam at AAP
A rare species
Cotton-top tamarins are extremely rare. Fewer than 6,000 of these animals are currently found in the wild. Cotton-top tamarins are only found in the forests of north-western Colombia and are listed as critically endangered.
Illegal pet
Cotton-top tamarin Tam was found in the Spanish town of El Zabal (La Línea de la Concepción) and was most likely bought illegally by a private individual and may have escaped from her owner’s home. Tam was caught by the local police after she bit someone. SEPRONA (a special team of authorities responsible for nature and animals in Spain) then took action to find a good place for the animal. Eventually, we were able to bring Tam to AAP Spain.
At AAP, we will be working hard to help Tam recover in the coming period. The authorities are still investigating to find out exactly where she came from.
