Golden Lion Tamarin

One of the most endangered of all primates and all mammals is the Golden Lion Tamarin. This tiny animal weighs only about a pound and is just about a foot long.

They have extremely beautiful manes which are made up of very lengthy hairs from the head, much like a lions.

Gold or orange colored, they have black and sometimes brown on the head and paws.

Golden Lion Tamarins

The golden lion tamarin enjoys the lowland tropical forest and feed on fruit, nectar, insects and sometimes even smaller vertebrates. They feed at night and are what is known as arboreal.

It is usually found at heights of 10 to 50 feet about the ground.

Tamarins will sleep in tangled vines, or vegetation or sometimes an abandoned nest from another animal.

Most tamarins live in groups.

They will hunt, feed and live in groups of 4 or 5 animals, which are a great deal like our families, a male, female and several younger animals.

Golden lion tamarins used to be very populous in the coastal forests in Brazil and other areas. By the early 1980’s it was sparsely populated and had begun to be seen only in a few areas.

The wild population is currently confined to about 17 different subpopulations in isolated forest patches across the area.

This has happened primarily because of habitat loss. More than 80% of its home ranges have been lost to gain lumber and clear land for developers. The Golden Lion Tamarin is considered to be critically endangered.

Find out more about the Golden Lion Tamarin over at Wikipedia »