Tamarin Trust is working with our partners, the Mountain Marmoset Conservation Programme, MMCP, to rescue a family group of buffy-tufted ear-marmosets in Cordeiro city, Rio de Janeiro state, and help them return to a life in the forest.

During recent surveys to find the last pure populations of buffy-tufted-ear marmosets, Rodrigo Carvalho, project leader of the MMCP, found a group of 12 marmosets living in a very small, degraded area of forest close to an area of residential gardens. This tiny patch of forest is literally a few trees and some bamboo.

With limited natural habitat available, the marmosets have become dependent on residents for much of their food.

The group has already suffered a devastating loss. Two adult males were killed by domestic cats or dogs; even though they are a protected species by federal law, this is still a big risk to the marmosets.

Recognising the urgency of the situation, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Brazil’s Population Management Programme for buffy-tufted-ear marmosets agreed that the best course of action is to relocate the group to a safer environment as soon as possible.

The proposed rescue will involve moving the marmosets to a small protected municipal forest fragment a few kilometres from the city, where they can be monitored and begin adapting to their new forest home.

Although this fragment is smaller than is ideal for the long-term survival of the entire group, it offers an important first step. The site includes an environmental education centre that will provide a base for the team to monitor the marmosets daily and assess their progress, but also provide supplementary feeding when needed.

The immediate aim is to help the animals become less dependent on people and learn to find food and survive independently in the forest. As the group has become accustomed to receiving food from residents, this transition will require careful management and close observation.

A soft release enclosure will be built in the new forest. This is an important stage in the acclimatisation of the group, enabling the team to provide them with supplementary food and gradually change it to fruits and other food resources that they will find in their new home.

Meanwhile, Tamarin Trust and MMCP will continue looking for a larger, more suitable forest fragment where the group can eventually be relocated to support its long-term survival. This new area could possibly be Serra Negra in the state of Minas Gerais, a 13,000-hectare state reserve where Tamarin Trust has been supporting surveys to assess its suitability for marmosets. This rescue and translocation project is also a chance to develop further protocols on how to manage this species in shattered fragmented habitats and provide the resources needed to protect buffy-tufted-ear marmosets in the wild.