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Updates from Proyecto Tití

Titi Tidbits March 2018


Last month, you voted for your favorite names in celebration of our ValenTITIs. Thank you for your input! This month, we are proud to announce the winners!

Flora and Romeo!

Flora and Romeo are some of the newest cotton-top tamarins that our field team tracks! Let’s get to know the life of these young tamarins and what their future might have in store.
Everyday Flora wakes up with her family after the sun rises. Though she is barely one year old, she has to stay alert for threats in the forest. From watching for snakes and eagles who might try to eat her, to squabbles with her older sister Ana, Flora has to grow up quickly and learn how to survive.

Ana has been growing up too, and fighting more often with their mom, Sofia. These conflicts for dominance often ends with Ana taking it out on Flora, just like human siblings! Soon, she will have to leave to be able to build her own family. Flora watches on the edges, knowing she will have the same thing happen to her soon.
But in Romeo’s family, the dynamic is different. Romeo has the upper hand when he plays and fights with his twin sister, Oakland. Since he’s larger, he even plays with his older siblings and joins their explorations of the forest. Every day Romeo wanders within his family’s territory, searching for new food, like fruit and insects. Someday when he’s older, he will seek out his own territory and a new female cotton-top to start a family with.
Romeo and Flora were born into two different family groups in the same forest. Perhaps when Romeo and Flora are adults, they may find each other in the forest. Their Valentine’s Day names will help their own love story. The Proyecto Titi Field Team will keep an eye on them to see what happens as they grow up.
Welcome to the forest, Flora and Romeo!
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Position Statement

Proyecto Tití's Position Statement on nonhuman primates in the Media

WHEREAS live nonhuman primates are often portrayed in the media as frivolous caricatures of humans, dressed in clothing and trained to do tricks on command for the amusement of the general public but with disregard to the welfare and conservation consequences; and
WHEREAS many nonhuman primates used as actors in movies and television and as photo props for commercials and greeting cards are often removed from their mothers shortly after birth and are denied opportunities for normal social and psychological development; and
WHEREAS the use of nonhuman primates in this industry often involves aversive techniques to maintain control of these animals; and
WHEREAS the inappropriate portrayal of nonhuman primates inaccurately conveys their biology and conservation status and may affect public attitudes including those in range countries where interactions with these animals have potential damaging consequences; and
WHEREAS evidence suggests that many nonhuman primate species are susceptible to many of the pathogenic infections that afflict humans and the transmission of infection can occur in both directions, especially in performing circumstances in which primates are in direct proximity with public audiences including children and the elderly,
Proyecto Titi Inc. and Fundacion Proyecto Titi therefore opposes the use of nonhuman primates as performers, photo props or actors.