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Species ProfilesGolden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosali)
Golden lion tamarins live in the rapidly diminishing Atlantic coast forests of Brazil. They are entirely golden, with a full mane encircling their heads. They weigh just over a pound and are about 14 inches long. Feeding mainly on fruit and nectar, they also use their long digits to pry insects out from under bark and leaves. At night they sleep in tree cavities. A 28,000-acre forest reserve protects the golden lion tamarin's habitat; about 830 survive. Predators include hawks and other raptors, wild cats, and large snakes. They were once popular as pets, but due to conservationist's education efforts, few tamarins are sold for the pet trade today. The golden lion tamarin is one of the few primates that have been successfully introduced from captivity into the wild. Reintroduction has contributed 200 animals to the wild population. Scientists believe that for a species to survive, the population should number at least 2,000 and that 55,000 acres of habitat should be set aside. Each golden lion tamarin group of two to nine primates requires about 100 acres of territory. One hope for the golden lion tamarin is ecotourism. Villagers who live along the coastal Atlantic forest are finding that showing travelers who are eager to glimpse a flash of gold in the trees can be more profitable than farming. They charge a fee and take the binocular-toting tourists into the forests they know so well, in the hopes of spotting one of the rare and beautiful tamarins. There are three other species of lion tamarins that some scientists argue are subspecies: black-faced (L. caicaras), which scientists identified in 1990; golden-headed (L. chrysomelas); and golden-rump (L. chrysopygus). All live in forest fragments in southeast Brazil and all are nearly extinct because 95 percent of their habitat has been destroyed. Further Reading:
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