Fun Facts!

The Lincoln Children’s Zoo has participated in reintroducing golden lion tarmarins back into the wild to help repopulate the species.

What a rough childhood! The young lion tamarins are weaned after just 90 days and less than half of the infants survive their first year of life.

Our Zoo is fortunate to have a golden lion tamarin in its family - there are less than 500 tamarins in zoos worldwide!

Golden Lion Tamarin

Leontopithecus rosalia

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Golden lion tamarins weigh between 12-24 ounces. They have a reddish orange to golden brown color coat that is longer and darker around the facial area. Their longer hair forms a mane on the top of the head, like a lion. They have slender legs wit sharp claw-like nails, and a long tail, used for balance but not for grasping. Their body is 7 inches long and their tail is longer, up to 12 inches.

HABITAT

Golden lion tamarins are native of the coastal areas of Brazil in the state of Rio de Janiero.

DIET IN THE WILD

Tamarins are omnivorous and feed on insects and small animals inhabiting the bark of trees. Fruits are a favorite; in fact, at one biological preserve, tamarins were observed eating over 160 varieties of fruit.

BEHAVIOR

They are social, and tend to collect in small groups of up to fourteen members, led by a breeding pair. The group marks off its territory with scents (body fluids); fights with other groups over borders of territory rarely occur.

STATUS IN THE WILD / CONSERVATION EFFORTS

The golden lion tamarin is an endangered species that is threatened with extinction; there are less than 1,000 in the wild. There is a great effort to assist this species including a captive breeding program, free range program and reintroduction into the wild program. The largest threats are trapping for the pet trade and loss of habitat.

LIFE SPAN

They can live between 15-20 years in captivity and up to 8 years in the wild.