Sleeping Site Selection by Captive Tamarins (Saguinus labiatus)

Abstract

AbstractWe investigated the sleeping site preferences of three captive groups of red‐bellied tamarins (Saguinus labiatus), especially as those preferences might relate to protection and safety. The tamarins chose sleeping boxes that offered the most concealment, the greatest distance from the floor, and the greatest cover overhead. They did not, however, avoid sleeping boxes that were attached to the floor via vines. When the tamarins had no choice but to sleep in a box that offered little in the way of concealment, they increased their rates of vigilant scanning. Whereas a number of considerations other than those related to predation pressures must also affect sleeping site choices, we have demonstrated that, under controlled circumstances, these primates choose to sleep in locations in which they are hidden and inaccessible.