MARMOSET MANNERS

MARMOSET MANNERS

BY JANANI ARUN

I’ve been working with primates for a few months now and have already seen and experienced so many incredible things. Last month, one of our common marmoset pairs gave birth to two babies, who were well cared for by their parents. I wanted to try a new method of ensuring the babies’ nutritional needs were met on a daily basis. We left the babies in the care of their parents, but we kept a close eye on their food intake. We noticed both parents passing loose stools a few days later. This could have been due to the addition of some new vegetables to their diet. It is a normal reaction to new foods until the gut flora becomes accustomed to them. We could have easily treated the condition by restraining and medicating the animals, but this would have put them under too much stress, especially since they are raising babies. We wanted to try treating them without restraint. I mixed some gripe water with baby marmoset formula food and tried offering it to the parents. I had developed some trust with the marmosets because I was closely observing them every day while ensuring that I was not causing them any harm. The male mustered the courage to approach first
in order to sample the formula mixture. They obviously like the taste, so he began slurping it up. The female, on the other hand, was extremely cautious because she was the primary caregiver for the infants. She avoided me completely for the first two days. The babies had grown accustomed to my presence by this point, and they were freely exploring the enclosure. I offered a drop of the formula mixture to one of the babies by placing it on a perch, and to my surprise, the baby licked it and looked at me, asking for more. I then offered him another drop directly from the syringe, which he also licked. Soon after, the mother approached, and she, too, drew a small amount of formula from the syringe. The next day, I called up the father marmoset, who had no qualms about coming out and drinking the formula while sitting on my lap! Furthermore, both babies followed him and took a few drops of formula
each. I was overjoyed that I had become friendly with the marmoset family and that I had also managed to treat them without causing them any stress. Recently, the father marmoset has been scent marking me, indicating that he considers me to be part of his territory! The babies regard me as a member of their family. They come to me eagerly, whether or not I have food, and climb all over me, playing with my hair and giving play bites.