Nicor

Nicor arrived at Jungle Friends with 9 other special-needs tamarins from the University of Wisconsin where they were performing cognitive studies. The general trend was for increasingly invasive research -- Professor Charles Snowdon decided to end all research with the cotton tops rather than feel pressured to do invasive research. With a total of 70 tamarins needing homes, it took over a year of fundraising, building, and networking with other sanctuaries and zoos, but with our help, Dr. Snowdon found homes for all of the tamarins who are out of the lab and out of harm’s way.

Nicor and his companion had a soft release from their indoor enclosure the evening they arrived. Their crate was left in the enclosure with the door open, so the tamarins could decide for themselves when to venture out of their crates. Though Nicor was cautious at first, he now spends as much time as possible outside. Nicor is missing one foot, four toes, and half of his tail – fortunately for Nicor he has developed huge biceps to compensate for his missing limbs. Nicor gets around just fine. He loves to sit on the ground and dig for bugs, and when the weather is nice he’ll even choose to sleep in a hammock outside instead of in his indoor enclosure – he and his partner love the great outdoors!