Six Tamarins and the Call of the Drum

Omar Enrique Berdugo Cabeza arrived at the feeding station with a handful of small fruits, and finding no one there, he fell back on the old trick: the sound of the tank — that drum the tití monkeys have long learned to recognize from a distance. There was nothing to do but wait. The sanctuary held still for a moment, the afternoon heat pressing itself against the leaves, until one by one the six individuals of the group began to emerge from the vegetation. They ate, and then slipped back toward their territory, as if the appointment had been kept. During that same patrol, two poyonetas were roaming nearby, going about their own quiet business among the undergrowth. Omar continued his route and found them all tucked into the cool vegetation, seeking shade from the afternoon heat. There they were — all six, motionless, resting in that corner of the reserve they have already claimed as their own.