Golden lion tamarin

The golden lion tamarin is also known as the golden lion monkey.

It lives in family groups and is very sociable within the family group. It is very aggressive towards strangers. The individuals in the group perform grooming and even clean each other's teeth. All of this helps to strengthen the unity of the group. The golden lion tamarin lives in the treetops at a height of at least 10 metres, where it spends 30-40 percent of its waking hours looking for food.

As it is sensitive to direct sunlight, it often crawls a little further into the trees in the middle of the day when the sun is strongest.

The golden lion tamarin does not thrive in forested areas that have been disturbed by humans. It has been estimated that only 7 per cent of its original habitat remains

In recent years, the golden lion tamarin has been successfully bred in captivity in zoos around the world and successfully reintroduced into the Brazilian rainforest.

  • Distribution: Only found in a rainforest area in south-eastern Brazil
  • Population: Endangered. There are approximately 5000 individuals left in the wild. 
  • Weight: 600-700 grams
  • Body length: 35-40 centimetres
  • Neck length: 32-37 centimetres
  • Sexual maturity: After approximately 15 months
  • Gestation: 4-5 months
  • Number of cubs: 2, always twins
  • Diet: Feeds on snails, insects, amphibians and bird eggs. It also forages in the treetops and eats fruit, flowers, sap and nectar from the flowers.
  • Life expectancy: 10-15 years in captivity
  • Latin name: Leontopithecus rosalia 

Read on and get to know the lion tamarin even better

Before the 16th century, there was a significant population of golden lion tamarins along the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, their habitat was gradually reduced as a result of European colonisation, deforestation, agriculture and urban expansion, leading to a dramatic decline in lion tamarin numbers. Fragmented forest in particular posed a significant problem as only a small group of lion tamarins could mate with each other, resulting in inbreeding. By the 1960s, fewer than 200 individuals remained and the species was considered extinct in the wild.

Dwarfism and unique claws

Another interesting aspect of the lion tamarins is the evolutionary dwarfism they have undergone over centuries. Over time, lion tamarins have become smaller and have developed unique anatomical features. For example, they have developed claws on four of their fingers, which is a rarity among apes. These claws allow them to crawl vertically on large tree trunks, where other monkeys usually grip around the trunks. In addition, the lion tamarin has longer fingers and arms than other marmosets. They use these to reach behind bark or cavities where they can find food.

Shelter for the night

At night, lion tamarins seek shelter in tree holes to avoid predators and find safety. That's why it's crucial to provide them with captive nest boxes where they can feel safe and secure. To mimic their natural behavioural patterns, the lion tamarins at Aalborg Zoo have access to two nest boxes that they can switch between every few days. Lion tamarins have scent glands that they rub up and down branches and bark to mark their presence and territorial boundaries.

Challenges with reintroduction?

Between 1984 and 2000, zoos helped release 146 golden lion tamarins into their natural habitat in an attempt to reintroduce them into the wild. But far from all of them survived in this first attempt. Lion tamarins that have spent most of their lives in captivity face great difficulties when reintroduced into the wild. They are not used to the harsh conditions they encounter in the wild, including predators, changing weather conditions and the need to find their own food.

In the second trial, the lion tamarins were gradually given access to the wild so that they could slowly practice adapting to the environment and develop the necessary survival skills. This also allowed them to mate with other lion tamarins in the wild, resulting in offspring that were far more successful in the wild.

In 2014, the animals were re-stocked and there was now a population of 3700 lion tamarins. However, they were not out of danger as over 30% of the wild population was affected by yellow fever in 2018. Therefore, the hard work to protect the species continued, and in 2020 they began vaccinating the wild population against yellow fever and building bridges between the different pieces of fragmented forest.

In 2023, the species was re-listed and there are now approximately 5000 lion tamarins living in the Atlantic forest. This means that the species has gone from being categorised as extinct in the wild to now "only" being endangered.