Imagine being so tiny that you use a toothbrush to comb your hair. That’s life for this pygmy marmoset named Ninita. Marmosets are super-small monkeys, and the word “pygmy” means REALLY small. Pygmy marmosets grow to 6 inches tall at most – that’s shorter than a grown-up’s hand. They weigh only about 5 ounces, the same as a few candy bars. So Ninita can’t eat a whole candy bar, but if she tries, she’ll need that toothbrush for her teeth, too.
Wee ones: Who’s taller, the 5-inch tall Ninita or your 7-inch-tall juice glass?
Little kids: If Ninita is just 5 inches long but her tail is 8 inches long, how much longer than her tiny body is her tail? Bonus: How long are she and her tail together from end to end?
Big kids: If a crowd of pygmies bites 200 holes into a tree each week, how many holes do they make in a 4-week month? Bonus: If the San Diego Zoo buys 38 toothbrushes and uses half of them to brush the monkeys, how many do they use in that weird way?
Answers:
Wee ones: The glass!
Little kids: 3 inches longer. Bonus: 13 inches.
Big kids: 800 holes. Bonus: 19 toothbrushes.
