Animal﹕Pygmy marmoset

[2018.05.09] 發表

【明報專訊】Living in the Amazon region of Brazil, Colombia (哥倫比亞), Peru (秘魯), Ecuador (厄瓜多爾), and northern Bolivia (玻利維亞), pygmy marmosets (侏狨) are the smallest monkeys in the world. A fully grown pygmy marmoset is just the size of a human hand! Such body size allows them to stay on slender tree branches. They prefer dense rainforests where they can hide themselves among the vegetation. Their yellow, green, and brown fur acts as camouflage in their forest habitat to avoid predators.

Enjoying a family life

Pygmy marmosets live in small groups, also called troops, with 2 to 6 members. A troop usually consists of the breeding parents, their babies and any of their adult children. They are monogamous (一夫一妻), which means the parents stay together for life. Living in a group is of benefit to safety as there are more guards to look out for predators. To communicate, they adopt various forms of communication including facial expressions, postures, vocalisations and scents.

Pygmy marmosets can breed throughout the year. After a gestation period (妊娠期) of five to seven months, a mother pygmy marmoset gives birth to one to three offspring. A newborn is just the size of a human thumb! In general, all family members in the troop help take care of newborn babies. However, the father plays an important role during the first two weeks, carrying the babies on its back and bringing the babies to the mother when they need to nurse. Growing up fast, the young wean (斷奶) at three months of age and will start following the troop to look for food.

Tapping for tree sap

Despite the small size, these little marmosets can leap up to a height of 5 metres. Their agility (敏捷) and ability to climb are important as they rely on the trees to survive, feeding on tree sap (樹汁). Pygmy marmosets spend most of their time gouging holes into trees and vines where they lap up the tree sap and juice. They do show preferences for certain trees within their territory, and on each feeding tree they can make up to 1,300 holes! Apart from tree sap, they also feed on insects, nectar (花蜜) and fruit.

Lend your helping hand

Hunting, pet trades and habitat loss may harm pygmy marmosets. Due to their cuddly appearance, international trade was a major threat and was prohibited by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the late 1970s. To protect these lovely creatures, let's support sustainable use of forest resources and do not buy pygmy marmosets as pets!

■Glossary

slender (adj) 纖細的

leap (v) 跳躍

gouge (v) 挖

cuddly (adj) 令人想擁抱的

(Text & photos: Ocean Park Hong Kong)