Golden Lion Tamarin | Learn About One Amazing Animal Every Day 006

Too cute!! This tiny creature even looks a bit like a little puppy!

The Golden Lion Tamarin, also known simply as the Golden Tamarin, is a New World monkey belonging to the Callitrichidae family. It is native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil. It is an endangered species, with only about 70 individuals remaining in the wild across three regions in southeastern Brazil. Around 300 more live in captivity, spread across 150 zoos worldwide.

The Golden Lion Tamarin is the largest species within the tamarin subfamily. They typically measure about 26 cm in body length and weigh around 620 grams, with almost no size difference between males and females. Like all New World monkeys, Golden Lion Tamarins have sharp claws instead of flat nails like humans and other primates.

Golden Lion Tamarins are omnivores and eat almost anything—fruits, flowers, nectar, bird eggs, insects, and even small vertebrates. They use their claws with great dexterity to extract food from cracks, leaves, and dense vegetation. Insects make up about 10–15% of their diet, while most of the rest consists of fruit. They rely mainly on fruit during the rainy season, and on other foods such as nectar and tree gum during the dry season. When insects are scarce, they will also hunt small vertebrates.