The David Traylor Zoo has a new partnership aimed at increasing global conservation efforts with a “fairly local” partner just to our south, according to Zoo Director Brenda Young.
The partner is the Mountain Marmosets Conservation Program located in Brazil, which is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of two specific Marmoset species, according to Young.
The program is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and therefore does not have the funding or access to certain resources or programs that zoos, which are typically managed and funded by local government, do. With that in mind, and as the zoo and EFOZ Board of Directors were looking to expand their involvement in global conservation efforts, Young says the zoo will be acting as a sponsor for the program to access the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), a web-based information management system that supports international collaboration between zoos and conservation institutions.
Young says the partnership will see the zoo pay the program’s membership fee, $500, on a rotating annual basis for the foreseeable future until one of the entities chooses to end the collaboration. Young says she hopes this collaboration continues for a long while and leads to in-person opportunities for both the program and the zoo.
Marmosets are New World monkeys native to South America, specifically rainforests and primarily in Brazil. The average lifespan of a Marmoset is 12-16 years and they come from the same family as cotton-top tamarins, which are on exhibit at David Traylor Zoo.
For more information about the Mountain Marmoset Conservation Program, visit mountainmarmosetconservation.com.
