Photo Courtesy: latimesblogs.latimes.com/.../lion-tamarin.html

There are many endangered species due to the deforestation of the Amazon, but one primate stands out today. The golden-headed lion tamarin survives in only a single protected reserve in the largely degraded Atlantic forest in Brazil (mongabay.com). Some are found in unprotected patches threatened by urbanization and agricultural expansion. Today, a natural gas pipeline is being built right through the monkey's habitat. Activists are trying to find forest large enough to house populations of the tamarin.

Less than 7 percent of the original Atlantic Forest remains. What does that mean for the golden-headed lion tamarin? Researchers only found four areas of land big enough to house the tamarins in. But still disease and fire can take place. Sadly, the researchers expect deforestation to continue in the region. Shade-grown cocoa, a good habitat for golden-headed lion tamarins and many other species, is also threatened to be cleared for plantations given the low price of cocoa (mongabay.com).