Black Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus chrysopygus (Mikan, 1823)
CR C2a(ii)

Like its close relative, the golden lion tamarin, this species is also endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic forests, being found in a number of isolated populations in the interior of the state of São Paulo. At one point, because the black lion tamarin had not been seen for several decades, some believed it had gone extinct. However, in 1970, the renowned Brazilian primatologist Adelmar F. Coimbra-Filho discovered a viable population in the forests of the 34,156-hectare Morro do Diabo State Park, and soon thereafter another in the Caitetus State Ecological Station. Subsequent field studies by fellow primatologist Claudio Padua have estimated the Morro do Diabo population at more than 800 animals, and have identified a number of other populations and on privately-held forested lands, bringing the total wild population to more than 900. Intensive management of these wild populations and more than 100 animals in captivity will be necessary to ensure the survival of the black lion tamarin.