Old faces, agile fingers, golden manes and beautiful coats describe the Golden Lion Tamarins in the Zoo's Animal Kingdom Building. These animals are some of the most beautiful that live at the Zoo.

Found in nature in the rain forests of Brazil in South America, they are agile tree climbers. In the wild, their diet consists primarily of fruit, insects, eggs, lizards, toads, and frogs. Their long, slender hands have fingers that are agile and strong enough to pry insects out of tree bark! In the Zoo, they eat fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, crickets, mealworms and marmoset diet. Marmoset diet is a processed primate diet that contains all the nutrients they need to be healthy. Tamarins are relatively tiny, weighing no more than a pound.

Tamarins tend to be monogamous, remaining with the same mate for life. The breeding pair forms the base for a small family group of 3-6 tamarins. The tamarin females usually give birth to twins. The adult male and older offspring help the female take care of the babies.

Tamarins are currently found in a small area of Brazil northeast of Rio de Janerio. They are on the endangered species list because their rain forest habitat is being destroyed for farming, grazing and city expansion.

Since 1984, zoos throughout the world have raised Golden lion tamarins and successfully released some in a special biological reserve in Brazil. Two tamarins born in our zoo participated in this reintroduction effort. As of 1994, out of the 81 animals reintroduced to the wild, 33 had survived and they had raised 21 offspring. Tamarins can live 15-20 years in captivity.

Tamarins love to watch people. They are active when our visitors are here and many times they watch you just like you watch them. Tapping on the exhibit glass frightens them and often they will retreat to the top of the exhibit when tapping occurs. You won't see them during overnights at the Zoo; at the end of the day they go to bed, closing the door to their boxes behind them!

Stop in and see the tamarins. Watch them watching you!