Rare Cotton-top Tamarin Monkey Born at Cape May County Zoo

The Cape May Zoo welcomed a new resident earlier this month with the birth of a Cotton-top tamarin monkey.

According to a Facebook post from the zoo, tamarins are critically endangered monkeys that are native to the rainforests of Colombia..

This baby was born to first-time parents "Cordelia" and "Lil' T" on August 3rd.

National Geographic says the Cotton-top tamarins are named for the shock of white hair around their heads, a look reminiscent of Albert Einstein. Roughly the size of a squirrel, cotton-top tamarins have white chests and bellies, while their backs and tails are covered in long black and brown fur. They have claw-like nails, which they use to jump from tree to tree in their forest habitat.

Primate Info Net estimates that there are as few as 300 to 1000 cotton-top tamarins left in Colombia. There are 1800 cotton-top tamarins in captivity around the world.

Cape May Zoo tells us the baby was carried by mom for the first week of its life, and now dad will start helping with carrying duty. You can see the cotton-top tamarins at the zoo daily, 10am - 4:30pm.