Golden lion tamarin. Photo Credit: Marcio Isensee e Sá.

Animals Brazil13. June 2022

This Golden Monkey Is Bouncing Back

The golden lion tamarin’s population is flourishing once more in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest following concerted conservation efforts, which included the restoration of the primate species’ natural habitat to ensure genetic viability.

“They need to move from one stand of trees to the other, to trade individuals, to trade genetic material and we have to provide — since we’re the ones that took it away — that connectivity,” says Mônica Montenegro, an environmental analyst at ICMBio and coordinator of the  National Action Plan for the Conservation of Atlantic Forest Primates and the Maned Sloth.

Since the 1960s, efforts are deployed to save the golden lion tamarin – or Leontopithecus rosalia – a species endemic to the state of Rio de Janeiro from extinction. In 1977, there were only between 100 and 200 tamarins in the wild. Today, there are some 2,000, living across 25,000 acres. But for the little monkey to avoid extinction, it needs to retain 98% of its genetic biodiversity. The national action plan’s goal is to have at least 2,000 individuals living across 62,000 acres by 2025. Thus, 10 treetop-to-treetop passageways, 15 underground tunnels, and one vegetation-covered viaduct were created to connect the Poço das Antas reserve with the freeway’s other side.

Source:
Mongabay

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