Conservation Efforts Boost Golden Lion Tamarin Population in Brazil

Green corridors planted to connect forest patches, as Golden Lion Tamarin Association purchases and reforests land, increasing tamarin population to around 4,800.

• The Golden Lion Tamarin Association (AMLD) has been purchasing and reforesting land in Brazil to create green corridors, connecting patches of forest and providing a safe passageway for the endangered golden lion tamarin.
• The Atlantic Forest, the only place in the world where the golden lion tamarin can be found, has been decimated by deforestation, reducing the forest to just 2% of its original size.
• The fragmentation of the forest has led to inbreeding among the tamarin population, as the monkeys are too scared to cross the bare land that separates patches of green vegetation.
• The AMLD has been buying land from farmers and cattle ranch owners and reforesting it, a process that is slow and expensive but has led to the reclamation of vibrant green hills, now covered with a healthy forest and inhabited by many animal species.
• Despite a significant drop in the tamarin population due to a yellow fever outbreak in 2018, conservation efforts have resulted in a current population of around 4,800 individuals, more than at any time since conservation efforts began.

3 Articles

Boston Globe Washington Post Associated Press