An assessment of behavior associated with reproduction and infant caretaking in a captive family group of Saguinus midas midas

The present study gathered both general and specific information about the behavior of a captive family group of Saguinus midas midas [red-handed tamarins] housed at the Washington Park Zoo, Portland, Oregon, USA. Saquinus midas midas is a rarely studied species, and detailed information about the behavior of this species is virtually nonexistent. For this reason, this study collected information about both activity budgets and social grouping within this family group. The primary focus of this study was, however, the socialization of captive juvenile tamarins with respect to several behaviors relevant to reproductive success among the Callitrichidae. The behaviors assessed were: scent marking [reproductive suppression]; mounting, thrusting, allogrooming, huddling [pair-bonding]; food transferring, and infant carrying [infant caretaking]. Socialization was defined as the process of social learning that guides young primates in the day to day life of a species and was assumed to occur via two potential processes: active participation and passive observation. It was supposed that juveniles may learn behaviors relevant to pair-bonding and infant caretaking by participating in interactions with other group members. It was also supposed that juveniles may further learn about these behaviors by observing a pair-bonded male and female. Recognizing the potential importance of both socialization processes, this study attempted to answer several questions with respect to the aforementioned behaviors: do juveniles and adults engage in these behaviors, and, if the behavior is a social interaction, with whom