Micke Grove Zoo

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Golden Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus rosalia

  • Habitat: Lowland and coastal tropical rainforest
  • Range: South-east Brazil
  • Natural Diet: Insects/spiders, snails, small lizards, small birds and eggs, and fruit
  • Status in the Wild: THREATENED

Animal weights are taken regularly to monitor and help improve their health and welfare

Fun facts

  • Golden lion tamarins belong to a class of the smallest primates in the world
  • They make high pitched alarm calls when a predator is seen
  • They are bright orangish-brown in color and this fur color is more prominant in sunlight
  • They most often have twins but on occasion, a single infant is born
  • Both males and females participate in taking care of their infants

Golden lion tamarins approach their companions for grooming privileges

Conservation Threats

  • The major threats are habitat loss mostly by human encroachment such as agricultural practices, logging for wood, and livestock grazing.
  • Golden lion tamarins are also caught for pet trade

Golden lion tamarins are endemic to a small, severely fragmented stretch of tropical rainforest in Brazil along its Atlantic coast 

Golden Lion Tamarin

Golden lion tamarins are golden-brown in color.Their name was linked to them sporting a mane similar to that of a lions

Their tails are longer than their bodies that help them balance when they are climbing and navigating in tree canopies

 

 

They are highly arboreal and spend considerable proportions of their time on lianas, tree branches, and in elevated dens in the exhibit

 

Structural enrichment is regularly administered to motivate them to display natural climbing and other active behaviors

 

Map Distributional range in Brazil, South America