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[Nick Moffitt <nick AT zork.net>]

Rare Baby Monkey May Help Save Species
Friday, September 27, 2002
http://www.sltrib.com/09272002/utah/1797.htm

CAPTION: An infant golden lion tamarin monkey clings to its mother
Thursday at Hogle Zoo. The tamarins are native to the coastal Atlantic
rain forests of Brazil and are a critically endangered species. (Al
Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)

BY GREG LAVINE
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

   A bright orange, 2-ounce golden lion tamarin born two weeks ago at
Hogle Zoo could help its species stave off extinction.

    As the name implies, the tiny tamarins resemble a cross between a
lion and a monkey. A lionlike mane of fur surrounds the small faces of
the tamarins. The new, not-yet-named tamarin can be seen clinging to
one of its parents at the zoo in Salt Lake City.

    "It's hard to tell where the parent ends and the baby begins"
because of the matching fur color, said Liz Larsen, the zoo's primate
supervisor.

    With about 1,500 golden lion tamarins in existence, they are
considered to be critically endangered, according to the World
Wildlife Fund. One thousand are living in the wild; 500 reside in
zoos.

    This is the first birth at Hogle Zoo as part of an international
breeding program to save the golden lion tamarins, Larsen said. The
male, Poco, came to Salt Lake City in 1997 and was joined by Puddles,
the female, in 2000.

    It is too early to determine the sex of the new tamarin, who was
born Sept. 11. When fully grown, a tamarin can weigh up to 1 1/2
pounds.

    The tamarins' traditional habitat, Brazil's lowland coastal
Atlantic rain forest, has dwindled because of human-driven expansion.
Roughly 5 percent of their original habitat -- a territory about the
size of Egypt -- remains.

    Larsen said the breeding program, which involves more than 100
zoos, accounts for 500 tamarins now living in the wild. About 350 of
the monkeys were reintroduced to Brazil and have successfully
reproduced to help the population recover.

    Hogle Zoo's newest tamarin will spend a few years here learning
how to help care for its future siblings. The tamarin could either be
released in the wild or sent to another zoo to breed more tamarins.

    The American Zoo and Aquarium Association is spearheading the
breeding program.  
    glavine AT sltrib.com
    

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