Re-introduction and translocation of golden lion tamarins, Atlantic Coastal Forest, Brazil: the creation of a metapopulation

Summary

The golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia), Endangered and confined to Brazil's fragmented lowland Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro state, has been the focus of the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Project's combined reintroduction and translocation strategy since the 1980s, aiming to build a connected metapopulation of 2,000 tamarins across 25,000 protected hectares by 2025; the population currently stands at roughly 1,600 animals across about 15,000 hectares. From 1984 to 2000, 159 tamarins were reintroduced into the protected Poco das Antas Reserve and onto private forest lands, followed by five more wild-born animals in 2005, using a soft-release protocol; survival to two years proved significantly higher among animals receiving intensive post-release management and among wild-born offspring of reintroduced adults than among captive-origin releases. Separately, from 1994 to 1997, six social groups totaling 42 wild tamarins were translocated from small, high-risk forest fragments into a 2,400-hectare tract later designated the Uniao Biological Reserve, where the population has since grown to over 200 animals. Today, three of six viable populations trace to reintroduction (over 600 individuals) and one to translocation (200 individuals), together representing more than half of all wild tamarins and expanding the species' geographic distribution by 60%. Success has depended on a Brazilian NGO, the Associacao Mico-Leao-Dourado, that manages threats, education and landowner relations, plus a global zoo network maintaining the captive source population, with over 40 private properties now hosting reintroduced tamarin descendants and more than ten designated as private nature reserves. The project rates itself Highly Successful, citing well-established, repeatable reintroduction methods and a durable, genetically diverse expanding population.