Hanging around outside our Natural Encounters building are some teeny Brazilians who look and act more like kings of the African savannah than the little primates they are. In fact, their very namesake has roots stemming from the first impression they made upon the Jesuit Pigefetta, one of Magellan’s fellow shipmates, who depicted them as ‘…”beautiful simian-like cats similar to a small lion.”’
No one can mistake the both magnificent and regal beauty of the golden lion tamarin.
Golden lion tamarins are quite a conundrum of variable traits. It has been determined that GLTs’ instinct to sound off and respond to alarm calls when a potential threat is approaching is not learned but a part of their genetic make-up – they often do this in zoos when birds fly over…even if they have been born and raised in captivity.
By nature, GLTs are quite vocal, but generally keep their voice level to a minimum, so as to not draw attention to themselves from unwelcome predators, such as eagles, snakes, cats, and hawks. They enjoy a high level of activity during the day and seek slumber in the evenings at the first sign of darkness. For both safety and comfort reasons, GLTs most often find an abandoned hole in a forest tree to spend the night, but when offered a man-made nest box, they will gladly call one of them home instead.
It's up to human beings to save these animals from extinction.
Unfortunately, the fiery-orange glow of these micro primates is one that may eventually be extinguished. Of the essential forests that golden lion tamarins need in order to survive, 99% of the thick vegetation has been cleared out for building and farming – a grim statistic. Because GLTs are so dependent on their environment to maintain their accustomed way of life, dwindling acres of Brazil’s rainforests means the same for the number of them left in the wild.
Writer: Stefanie Hanselka