Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation

Brazil (Atlantic Coastal Forest)

Golden lion tamarins are endemic to a small area in Brazil’s Atlantic Coastal Forest, with only 2 percent of their habitat remaining. Due to habitat loss and more historically, the pet trade, there were an estimated 200 golden lion tamarins living in the 1970s. This led to the development of a comprehensive conservation program that includes habitat protection and restoration, translocation of wild animals to safe forest habitats, a successful cooperative breeding program in zoos, reintroduction of zoo-born GLTs, and an education outreach program. Zoo Atlanta is partnered with the Golden Lion Tamarin Association, a Brazilian non-governmental organization, to conserve the tamarins and their habitat in perpetuity. Conservation efforts have helped increase the number of golden lion tamarins in the wild to around 3,000! This is great news for the tamarins, but we still have work to do. Their habitat remains fragmented and degraded so we are working hard to help create more connections between forest patches and reforest more areas as well as managing the population for long term viability.