Gatsby is a cotton-top tamarin who was born on February 5, 1998 and arrived at Jungle Friends on July 14, 2008 with nine other special-needs tamarins. These monkeys found a home at Jungle Friends when a research laboratory closed its doors.

Originally there were seventy cotton-top tamarins in need of homes. It took a full year of planning, fundraising, building and networking with other sanctuaries and organizations to find placements for all seventy.

The ten who arrived here at Jungle Friends were flown to Orlando where we picked them up. It was after dark when we reached the sanctuary, so we took our new residents directly to Tamarin Town. We put the carriers into the indoor enclosures and left the carrier doors open for a 'soft release', meaning the monkeys would choose for themselves when they wanted to venture out into unknown territory.

Gatsby and her companion Hershey decided that they would just stay put for a while, but by late the next morning they cautiously emerged out of their carriers to join the other brave souls — and oh, the chatter!

Gatsby and Hershey are never far from each other. They are both very interested in every detail of their new home — discovering the great outdoors for the first time, getting a taste of a new, larger life - and reminding us why we do what we do! Gatsby is a little girl with a big appetite! She will eat just about anything put in front of her. She is quite friendly toward our carestaff... especially if you have a tasty treat!