Latest update February 23rd, 2025 1:40 PM
Latest News
- Miner dies after tree stump falls on head
- Drunken businessman shoots wife dead during argument
- Taxes collected by Bahamas on Guyana’s oil will soon outweigh our total earnings – Chris Ram
- Gov’t ignores concerns, reappoints Director, members of Environmental Assessment Board for 3rd consecutive year
- Pope Francis in critical condition after health deteriorates, Vatican says
Golden-Handed Tamarin: Guyana’s smallest primate might be world’s best jumper
Interesting Creature…
Kaieteur News- Guyana’s smallest ‘monkey’ (primate), the Golden-Handed Tamarin, measures less than a 12-inch (30 Centimeter) ruler but can jump a distance of over 60 feet (18metres) from the top of a tree to the ground with no sign of injury.
A golden-handed Tamarin’s intimidating stare
They are excellent climbers too, probably even better than spiderman.
The primate can also leap a fair distance upwards and are very agile creatures who despite their size can be very aggressive and intimidating. This creature truly lives-up to the saying that small animals and short people are the most confident, aggressive and fierce.
As the saying goes, they might just be overcompensating for their small stature.
A trip to the Georgetown Zoological Park and Rescue Center, located at the Botanical Gardens might be the only place you can get a close-up encounter with a Golden-Handed Tamarin.
Getting too close to them in the wild will be at your own risk because according to scientists, “they live in cooperative groups of 4 to 15 members with little competition among themselves” and are very territorial.
The primate displaying it superb jumping capabilities.
Once threatened, defence mode is top priority and they will rush to battle with sharp canines and claws.
Yes, they are not like other primates with fingernails and toe nails on their hands and feet. They have the ability to bite and claw a threat to death, or inflict severe damage and flesh wounds. So, take caution when approaching them in the wild.
If you don’t believe The Waterfalls, then visit the “Georgetown Zoological Park and Rescue Center to see for yourself how intimidating their stare can be. Two of them are kept there.
During a recent visit, one of them looked at The Waterfalls reporter dead in the eye without moving or even flinching. The creature showed no fear and perhaps after making sure the reporter was no threat to him/her. It leaped away and went about its business displaying a bit of the quickness and agility it possesses.
Description
Like the name Golden-Handed suggests, its hands are covered in a golden-colour hair, while the rest of its body is black. The face is hairless, black and remarkably smooth.
Reproduction
Golden Handed-Tamarins also known by their scientific name Saguinus midas Can live up to ten years in the wild and 16 in captivity.
They become sexually matured between 16 to 20 months and when living in groups there is no competition or fight between males for females in the group.
Also, the females respect and understand that only one of them is allowed to breed per season and would suppress their mating instinct until it’s their turn.
The gestation period is 140–170 days and mothers typically give birth to two offspring.
Fathers are the ones who take full responsibility of taking care of the young, would only hand them over to their mothers to nurse.
Diet
These primates are omnivores and would feed on leaves, plant exudates, fruit, flowers, eggs, insects and other arthropods, frogs, spiders, lizards, and nectar.
(Excerpts were taken from, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43387-Saguinus-midas)
(Golden-Handed Tamarin: Guyana’s smallest primate might be world’s best jumper)
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Crowds, chaos and complaints
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The folly of the cash grant distribution is a textbook case of what happens when a government,... more
Why the U.S. Should Strengthen Trade Ties with the Caribbean
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- A rules-based international trading system has long been a foundation of global commerce,... more
Weekend Cartoon
