In the wild, they will live for approximately 15 years, but in zoos they can live up to 20 years. Recently Auckland Zoo has successfully reared golden lion tamarin twins, female Aurora and male Raffino. The decision to hand-rear is never taken lightly as there are always risks involved. Our primate keepers used their expertise, coupled with the best science and the knowledge that the twins would have each other to bond with, to make this decision and without it these critically endangered twins would have simply not survived.
After a gestation period of about four and a half months, the female usually gives birth to twins. Golden lion tamarins are born fully furred with their eyes open. They cling to their mothers for the first few weeks. All members of the group will carry and care for the infants, but the adult male usually does the largest share.
The mother only takes the babies to nurse them. After about five weeks, babies begin to explore on their own; they are weaned at 3 months. As with golden-headed lion tamarins, sexual maturity is reached at 18 months for females and 2 years for males. Their sleep patterns are regular, meaning that they sleep from dusk until sunrise, oftentimes with a midday nap.
Golden lion tamarins sleep in tree holes for warmth and protection from predators at night. The first year of life is the most difficult for golden lion tamarins; 50 percent of infants die during this time. The remaining individuals usually live for about eight years and can live up to 20 years or more in human care.
Historically, collection for the pet trade, severe habitat loss and fragmentation were the primary threats to golden lion tamarins. Habitats were destroyed to make way for sugar cane and coffee production, cattle grazing, logging, charcoal and urbanization. As a result, in the early s, there were as few as golden lion tamarins in the wild. In , the Zoo held a ground-breaking conference bringing together 28 European, American and Brazilian biologists to save the golden lion tamarin.
Long-term recommendations for husbandry were developed for research and conservation activities, including support for the breeding program in Brazil, studies of breeding biology, protocols for captive husbandry and management, medical programs, hand-rearing guidelines, inter-institutional cooperation and the establishment of a studbook and a data bank to record all aspects of their propagation in human care.
Following this important meeting, the Zoo made a major commitment to the captive breeding and conservation of the golden lion tamarin and launched a long-term investigation into the reproduction, social behavior and husbandry of the species in human care. For many years, golden lion tamarins were free-ranging at the Zoo to help them prepare for eventual reintroduction to the wild in Brazil.
The zoo population of golden lion tamarins has been managed globally since The Zoo played an important role in creating the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program, which is still active today in field research, reintroduction, environmental education and habitat restoration.
Currently, the International Committee for the Conservation and Management of Lion Tamarins advises the Brazilian government on the research and conservation activities for these species. Golden lion tamarins were upgraded from critically endangered to endangered in following these extensive conservation efforts. About one-third of the wild population today originated from golden lion tamarins raised in human care.
While the estimate of golden lion tamarins living in the wild has continued to rise in recent years, they are still classified as endangered because their habitat remains fragmented into small, unconnected areas, each only capable of supporting a small number of groups.
This has decreased the quality of tamarin habitat and limited their ability to grow populations. It also leaves the species susceptible to diseases. It is a relatively small species, only reaching a length of 40cm from head to tail and weighing less than 1kg. The tamarin is immediately recognisable with its bright orange mane of fur and its unique appearance has contributed to it being the national symbol of Brazil. In the s, numbers of Golden lion tamarin reached an all time low, with an estimated individuals remaining in the wild and by it was classified as critically endangered.
The animal also had to contend with collection for the pet trade, although this became illegal in Fortunately for Golden lion tamarins, conservationists have spent the last three decades fighting for their survival. Thanks to a captive breeding and reintroduction programme initiated with zoos around the world, their number increased to individuals in the wild by the year and their status was downgraded to endangered by Today there are an estimated golden lion tamarins in the wild.
Habitat loss continues to be a major concern and one organisation, Saving Species, has decided to take practical steps to tackle the problem. Significant research has enabled the NGO to buy and reforest corridors of connectivity between fragmented areas of suitable habitat.
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