Golden lion tamarin
Leontopithecus rosalia
Animal facts
Tamarins are tiny monkeys. Their long thin fingers extract grubs from cracks in the trees although their main diet is fruit and tree gum. Grooming is an important social activity and they even pick each other’s teeth. Attractive features have led to their use in the pet trade, but logging is the major factor in their decline - 96 per cent of their habitat has been destroyed. However, they are now part of an international breeding programme.
Where they live
Very small area of east Brazil
Habitat
Atlantic coastal rainforest
What they eat
Fruit, flowers, insects, snails, frogs, lizards, tree gum
IUCN status
Critical