nails on each digit but tamarins have claws on all digits except the big toe. Behavior The white-footed tamarin uses scent glands to mark its territory. It lives in a group with its extended family of four to fifteen individuals. It lives in trees and is active during the day. Very agile in the trees, it uses all four limbs (quadrupedal) to aid in maneuvering through the branches. The white-footed tamarin exhibits polyandrous reproduction, meaning one female will mate with more than one male. Gestation cycle is 130–150 days. Females will give birth to one to three young and males have a role in rearing the young and carrying them on his back. Maturity is 12–18 months old. Two birthing seasons have been recorded, one between May and June and the other between October and November. Ecology The white-footed tamarin lives in tropical dry forests, tropical wet forests, primary and secondary forests. It prefers the edges of forests, close to streams. Its diet consists of insects, soft fruits, and nectar, plant exudates, prey animals, and flowers. Status The forests in which the white-footed tamarin lives are disappearing rapidly as the land is used for logging and mining, cleared for agriculture and for the construction of roads and dams. Populations of the tamarin are declining and some animals are sold in local markets as pets. As a result of these factors, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the animal's conservation status as being "vulnerable". References white-footed tamarin Mammals of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia white-footed tamarin white-footed tamarin