Titíes Among Green Mangoes in the Piedemonte

José Marín headed out alone into the piedemonte sector, his signal barely strong enough to send a GPS location every now and then. Along the way, he came across two trees worth adding to the record: a camajorú standing twenty-five meters tall, its pale trunk rising through the deep green canopy of the forest, and farther on — well apart from the first — a mango tree heavy with fruit, still green and unripe, surrounded by shrubs and dense undergrowth. It was near the mango tree that the day's surprise revealed itself: a troop of titíes, somewhere between five and six individuals, moving through the branches. The tití gris, or tití cabeciblanco (Saguinus leucopus), is a species endemic to Colombia, its range limited to the Caribbean region and the Magdalena Medio, and its presence in the reserve is always a welcome sign. José managed to capture them in photos and video before they vanished into the thicket. The piedemonte, on that day, held far more life than the eye could first see.