TheGolden lion tamarinLeontopithecusrosalia: a conservation success story

Abstract

In 1960, the Golden lion tamarin Leontopithecus rosalia was almost extinct in the wild and the captive population, with poor reproduction and survival, was not well established. In the 1970s, after many improvements, the captive population began to grow and the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve was created to protect the species. In the 1980s, long‐term research was begun on the demography and socio‐ecology of the Golden lion tamarins, along with community environmental education and a reintroduction programme of captive‐born animals (initially in the reserve, later in neighbouring private forests). About 30 zoos contributed the 146 captive‐born reintroduced tamarins, and provided information on social behaviour, nutrition and health that was critical to developing reintroduction strategies. In 1994, threatened groups isolated in small fragments were rescued and translocated to a protected forest. Both programmes have been successful as measured by survival and reproduction after release, and both techniques have established growing populations. Although new threats (introduction of exotic primates) continue to challenge our efforts to preserve the species, there is no doubt of the success of almost 30 years of the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Programme.

Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter

“…Nonetheless, reintroductions raise public and political awareness and provide placement solutions for rescued animals in line with welfare concerns. The use of wild-born, rescued, and rehabilitated primates instead of captive-bred animals in reintroduction programs reduces costs and can increase success ( 145 ). A range of primate species have been successfully introduced in some places, including orangutans, lar gibbons ( Hylobates lar ), southern yellow-cheeked gibbons ( Nomascus gabriellae ), Indonesian slow lorises ( Nycticebus ), Delacour’s langurs ( Trachypithecus delacouri ), western gorillas, woolly monkeys ( Lagothrix lagotricha ), golden lion tamarins ( Leontopithecus rosalia ), and pygmy marmosets ( Cebuella pygmaea ) ( 146 – 150 ).…”

Contributions of zoos and aquariums to reintroductions: historical reintroduction efforts in the context of changing conservation perspectives

“…While not ideal, an increasing number of reintroduction projects release captive‐bred animals (Seddon et al ., ). Such reintroductions have made a fundamental contribution to the conservation of some iconic species (Stanley Price et al ., ; Seddon et al ., ; Conde et al ., ), notably the Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx (Mésochina et al ., ), Black‐footed ferret Mustela nigripes (Dobson & Lyles, ), Przewalski's horse Equus ferus przewalskii (Van Dierendonck & de Vries, ) and Golden lion tamarin Leontopithecus rosalia (Kierulff et al ., ). Hoffmann et al .…”

Population Genetic Structure of an Endangered Endemic Primate (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in a Highly Fragmented Atlantic Coastal Rain Forest

“…The importance of genetically diverse captive populations for the conservation of lion tamarin species with markedly smaller wild populations has also been documented [Ayala-Burbano et al, 2017;Moraes et al, 2017]. In the case of L. rosalia, the captive population contributed greatly to the wild population by means of a reintroduction programme [Kierulff et al, 2012;Moraes et al, 2017].…”