Download Golden Lion Tamarin

Golden Lion Tamarin
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Callitrichidae
Genus: Leontopithecus
Scientific Name: Leontopithecus Rosalia
Appearance:
The Golden Lion Tamarin has golden coloured hair and a thick
bushy lion-like mane on top of head. The Golden Lion
Tamarin’s tail is not prehensile (the tail can’t grip onto
branches). They are about 20cm big and they weigh around
550g-700g.
Movement:
Golden Lion Tamarins can run up to the speed of 40km/hr.
Golden lion tamarins move in a variety of ways. They often leap
from tree to tree. When they travel they usually walk on all four
appendages. In trees, they leap vertically from one level to the
next.
Habitat:
Golden Lion Tamarins live in the heavy populated coastal
region of Brazil, where less than 2 percent of the low land
forests remain. They are critically endangered because of the
lack of habitat and only 1500 remain. Most of the monkeys are
in zoos.
Diet:
Golden Lion Tamarins eat fruit, flowers, nectar, snails, spiders,
insects, such as crickets, small mammals, and small reptiles but
they favour fruit. They are classified as omnivores (are
herbivores and carnivores). They also search for food in clumps
of dead leaves, in fresh leaves, along branches, and in holes and
crevices in branches and tree trunks. When they forage (look for
food), they usually squat, moving the food around with their
long hands.
Facts:
Some people call the Golden Lion Tamarins ‘Lion Monkeys’
because of its lion-like mane. Other people call them ‘Squirrel
Monkeys’ because of their small size. Wild Golden Lion
Tamarins spend almost a third of their day travelling, almost
half foraging and eating, nearly 20 percent resting, the
remainder of the day is spent on socializing and defending their
territory. Their predators are hawks, wild cats, snakes and rats
which is why the monkeys live in troops. Their lifespan is 8-15
years.
By Tom