A PROFILE OF THE LION TAMARIN

Fast Facts:
Found only in the Atlantic Rainforests of Brazil, these tiny monkeys are critically endangered.   Captive breeding, managed wild breeding, translocations, and reintroduction are some of the strategies being used to save lion tamarins.

Physical Appearance:
Slightly smaller than squirrels, tamarins are commonly called "kings of the jungle" because manes around their faces make them look like lions. All of the species of this family have claws that they use to dig under bark to gather meals of insects.

Adaptations:
The Lion Tamarins are related to Marmosets. They are about 12 inches tall, not including the tail which can be up to 17 inches long, and weigh up to 2 pounds. Tamarins jump through the treetops and from tree to tree, using their fingers to hold onto branches.

Reproductive Cycle and Family Habits:
Tamarins live in family groups. Parents mate once a year producing two offspring (babies) per birth. The older twins stay a long time with their family helping their parents take care of the children. Both parents care for newborns. The father takes care of the tiny babies by carrying them on his back. Mothers nurse babies every two to three hours.

Habitat:
Tamarins live in dense forests of Eastern Brazil. These forests once covered one million square miles, but have been reduced, removed or destroyed by 90%.   This loss of forest has resulted in habitat loss and fragmentation for lion tamarins.

Threats to Survival:
Lion tamarins are losing their homes because of habitat destruction. This part of Brazil was one of the first areas to be colonized by people. When the cities and the surrounding areas became more populated, people started moving to rural areas, the rainforest. Humans needed to grow food and make a living, so they cleared the rainforest, the home of the lion tamarins, and farmed it to grow cash crops. Agriculture, industry and urban expansion all threaten the habitat and the continued existence of lion tamarins.

Behavior:
Tamarins are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and rest during the night, actually seeking shelter in tree cavities. They are sensitive to direct sunlight, so during the hottest part of the day they stay in the dense vegetation of the rainforest.

Diet:
Tamarins are omnivorous, eating a variety of plants and animal food. They spend a lot of their day searching for their favorite foods, like small fruits, plant gum, insects, snails, roaches, and even small lizards and snakes.

Language:
Tamarins communicate vocally by trills, whines and clucks and visually by body language. Grooming is common among individuals in a social group.

Non-human Predators:
Black-hawk eagle, ornate hawk-eagle, jaguar, jaguarundi, ocelot, and tayra.

Physical Appearance:
As the name suggests, these tamarins are black with golden rumps.

Geographic Range:
Black lion tamarins live in small, fragmented parts of the rainforest in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Biome:
Tropical deciduous forest

Habitat:
Rainforests of Eastern Brazil

IUCN Status:
Endangered

Threats to Survival:
The clash between urban expansion and pristine rainforest in Sao Paulo causes black lion tamarins to be one of the most endangered species in the world. Roads are very important part of development, connecting rural people and goods to urban jobs and markets.   However, these roads divide black lion tamarin habitats, and vehicles traveling on these roads sometimes hit tamarins attempting to cross the road. Forests that were once expansive and contiguous (without divide) are now small and scattered, so the animals are isolated in their patch of forest from other black lion tamarins. Lion tamarins are arboreal, moving through the forest canopy rather than descending to the forest floor where they would be vulnerable to predators and vehicles.

Dr. Claudio Pauda and other scientists used their creativity to find solutions to preserve the forests and protect the monkeys. One idea was to build a bridge above the road, so tamarins would not have to descend to the ground or risk being run over by cars when they crossed the road. Scientists are physically trapping and moving animals among different forest patches so they can interact and breed with tamarins from different lineages. Researchers were concerned that small isolated breeding populations of tamarins would result in inbreeding problems.

Physical Appearance:
This newly discovered tamarin has black arms, tail, and fur around its face. The rest of its body is covered in golden fur.

Geographic Range:
Black-faced lion tamarins have only been identified on the island of Superaqui, a 14000 hectare island in Guaraquecaba and in a small part of the continent on the boarder between the states of São Paulo and Parana.

Biome:
Tropical deciduous forest

Habitat:
Rainforest of Eastern Brazil

IUCN Status:
Endangered

Threats to Survival:
Habitat destruction is the main threat for black-faced lion tamarins.

Physical Appearance:
This lion tamarin is covered in a golden fur.

Geographic Range:
Golden lion tamarins are found in the 5,000 hectare Poco das Antes Biological Reserve.

Biome:
Tropical deciduous forest

Habitat:
Isolated parts of the Eastern Atlantic Brazilian rainforest

IUCN Status:
Endangered

Threats to Survival:
Less than 3% of the forest originally inhabited by golden lion tamarins remains today. The clearing of the rainforest provides quick cash in the sale of firewood and an area where cattle can graze. Cecilia Kierulff and her assistants survey wild populations of golden lion tamarins hoping to identify their threatened homes and move them to safer parts of the rainforest. She has successfully relocated seven golden lion tamarins: two adult males, two adult females, a juvenile female and two infants - a male and a female.

Physical Appearance:
This tamarin has golden fur on its head, tail and arms. The rest of its body is black.

Geographic Range:
Golden-headed lion tamarins reside in the southern state of Bahia in   the largest reserve for tamarins 7,000 hectare Una Biological Reserve.

Biome:
Tropical deciduous forest

Habitat:
Rainforest of Eastern Brazil

IUCN Status:
Endangered

Threats to Survival:
Habitat destruction threatens the existence of golden-headed lion

tamarin. They compete for their habitat with cocoa farmers. Southern Bahia is the cocoa producing capital of Brazil, producing almost 90% of the country's crop. Cocoa farmers follow two methods of land preparation. They can either selectively cut trees, leaving about 10% of the forest intact or clear cut the entire area. Plants and animals that once lived in the rainforest can no longer thrive in the totally cleared area. When as little as 10% of the forest remains, some plants and animals have enough food and shelter to stay in the rainforest.

Golden-headed lion tamarins do not require dense habitat, but can survive in the cabruca, the partially cleared rainforest.  

Conservation:
Christina Alves, a researcher in Brazil, is working with local cocoa farmers to promote the co-existence of farmers and golden-headed lion tamarins by surveying the attitudes of local villagers about lion tamarins. She established a nature center dedicated to informing villagers about golden-head lion tamarins.