Name:  Golden lion Tamarin

Range:
Atlantic coastal areas.

Habitat:
Coastal rainforest at elevations from 1500 - 3000 feet.

Description:
These small monkeys weigh around one pound and have a silky, golden coat and a lion-like mane. Its fingers are long and slender and slightly webbed.Tamarins inhabit abandoned nestholes in the middle level of the forest canopy, 30 feet above the forest floor.

Adaptations/Habitat:
Each tamarin family maintains a territory of around 100 acres, defined by scent marking and inter-group vocalizations. Their natural enemies are snakes and birds of prey.The tamarin's habitat is shrinking due to the development of plantations, cattle grazing, and condominiums. With the development also comes human diseases such as rubeola and herpes to which tamarins are highly susceptible.

Breeding/Growth:

Diet:
Fruit, insects, eggs, and occasionally small lizards, toads, and frogs.

Exhibit:
near train station

Notes:
photo: Rich Reid