These interesting animals are threatened, as are many of the forests in which they live. Brazil's Atlantic coastal rain forests are disappearing due to ever-expanding logging, agriculture, and industry, and unfortunately, the golden lion tamarin is in danger of vanishing with them.
Each group has one breeding pair. The breeding season is between September and March, the warmest and wettest time of year. After a gestation period of about four and a half months, the female usually gives birth to twins. Golden lion tamarins are born fully furred with their eyes open. They cling to their mothers for the first few weeks. All members of the group will carry and care for the infants, but the adult male usually does the largest share. The mother only takes the babies to nurse them. After about five weeks, babies begin to explore on their own; they are weaned at 3 months. As with golden-headed lion tamarins, sexual maturity is reached at 18 months for females and 2 years for males. The conservation effort has been on going for years, some of the effort includes education, sustainable agriculture, reforestation programs, the planting of “corridors” that reconnect fragmented environments, and scientific management of the wild population to minimize inbreeding.