Ellie is a common marmoset who was born into the exotic pet trade on March 5, 2006. Ellie’s ‘owner’ surrendered her and her companion Kobe to Endangered Primate Foundation at an event called Nonnative Pet Amnesty Day. As with most ‘pet’ primates, when Ellie and Kobe reached adulthood, they had begun biting their ‘owners.’

Kobe, a male marmoset about 6 years older than Ellie, had been a gift from a former ‘owner’ who no longer wanted him. His new ‘owners’ wanted to provide Kobe with companionship, so they purchased Ellie as an infant and hand-reared her. Just a few months before the pair was surrendered, Ellie underwent an emergency cesarean section, hysterectomy, and treatment for dystocia. The infant did not survive.

Although Ellie and Kobe were accustomed to free roaming in a human home, riding on human shoulders, and sleeping in bed with people, these two made a great transition to a more natural lifestyle at the Endangered Primate Foundation (EPF) sanctuary. Kobe was shy at first, but he broke out of his shell and displayed very normal territorial and protective behaviors. Females are always dominant among marmosets, and Ellie was no exception. They were a perfect match for one another and were doing well in their new home – until Kobe’s sudden death.

Kobe had shown no visible symptoms of illness, but a necropsy determined the cause of death to be pancreatitis. Ellie's behavior remained relatively normal except that she now sought attention from the human caretakers. For a couple days after Kobe’s death, Ellie was making contact calls looking for him. She was still eating well and behaving normally. EPF made the decision to transfer Ellie to Jungle Friends, as it is EPF's policy to avoid solitary housing of primates, and at that time they were not expecting any new arrivals that might provide Ellie with the companionship she needed.

At Jungle Friends, Ellie again settled into her new environment very well. We situated the new girl between Mojo and Arnold, our two most eligible bachelors. It soon became clear that Mojo was out and Arnold, an ex-lab marmoset looking for the right lady, was in! We are proceeding slowly with the socializing, keeping Arnold near Ellie and allowing short visits. Ellie is still a bit shy, and both are a tad territorial. They are making steady progress with each chaperoned “date” and we are confident will have a successful match between Ellie and Arnold.