Overview

• The Golden Lion Tamarin Association (AMLD) has been purchasing and reforesting land in Brazil to create green corridors, connecting patches of forest and providing a safe passageway for the endangered golden lion tamarin.
• The Atlantic Forest, the only place in the world where the golden lion tamarin can be found, has been decimated by deforestation, reducing the forest to just 2% of its original size.
• The fragmentation of the forest has led to inbreeding among the tamarin population, as the monkeys are too scared to cross the bare land that separates patches of green vegetation.
• The AMLD has been buying land from farmers and cattle ranch owners and reforesting it, a process that is slow and expensive but has led to the reclamation of vibrant green hills, now covered with a healthy forest and inhabited by many animal species.
• Despite a significant drop in the tamarin population due to a yellow fever outbreak in 2018, conservation efforts have resulted in a current population of around 4,800 individuals, more than at any time since conservation efforts began.