The beautiful golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) is one of the four lion tamarin species found in Brazil. It lives only in the severely threatened Atlantic coastal forests in the state of Bahia. Only 10% of the original forest remains, with obvious consequences for the golden-headed lion tamarins. 

Understanding how the golden-headed lion tamarin uses the remaining forest is vitally important and will guide the next steps in conservation planning. The dominant vegetation within its range is shade-grown coffee agroforest or cabruca. The tamarins can survive in this man-made habitat with no negative impacts on the farmer’s yield. 

Unfortunately, in recent years this habitat has been disappearing due to an introduced disease affecting the trees and a change in demand for coffee, which has led farmers to switch land use away from this agroforestry to more destructive farming such as cattle pasture. 

Due to your support, Tamarin Trust was able to help provide vital equipment for the essential field work that will guide future conservation actions for this wonderful monkey.