Golden Lion Tamarins have become the 'poster species' for conservation at many zoos, having been saved from extinction and now thriving in captivity. I've seen them at
63 zoos. Glancing down my list, I would estimate that I've come across this species on 10 occasions in a free-roaming environment with visitors passing through the area. GLT's are notable for being quite tame and easy-going, even when surrounded by people. I've never once seen the species at a roadside zoo, and almost every facility on the list is accredited or has been in the past.
1- Bloedel Conservatory (Canada) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 1986
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 1996
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2006
4- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2007
5- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
6- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
7- Montreal Biodome (Canada) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
8- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
9- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
10- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
11- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
12- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
13- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
14- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2008
15- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
16- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
17- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
18- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
19- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
20- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
21- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
22- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
23- National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
24- Riverbanks Zoo & Garden (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
25- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
26- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
27- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
28- Houston Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
29- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
30- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
31- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
32- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
33- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
34- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
35- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2010
36- Santa Barbara Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2011
37- Santa Ana Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2011
38- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2011
39- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2011
40- Potawatomi Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
41- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
42- Erie Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
43- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
44- Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
45- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
46- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
47- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2012
48- Scovill Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2014
49- Lincoln Children’s Zoo - Nebraska (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2014
50- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2015
51- Micke Grove Zoo (USA) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2017
52- Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2017
53- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
54- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
55- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
56- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
57- Apenheul Primate Park (Netherlands) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
58- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2019
59- Aalborg Zoo (Denmark) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2022
60- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2022
61- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2022
62- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2022
63- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Golden Lion Tamarin – 2022
The stunning orange hair on GLT's makes them easy to spot even in lush zoo exhibits.
@Lafone
It's a tad blurry, and from 2008, but here's me with a GLT inside the
Lied Jungle at
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA). Maybe the orange monkey saw my Canadian flag badge on my backpack and recognized me as a safe species.
While Omaha has had GLT's roaming a vast jungle to their heart's content,
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) has had this exhibit for the past 31 years:
@Moebelle
San Antonio Zoo (USA) had this small wire cage for GLT's in 2010:
Smallish, basic enclosures are par for the course for these primates. Another example can be found at
Alexandria Zoo (USA):
Randers Regnskov (Denmark) had GLT's free-roaming inside their South American dome when I was there in 2022:
Lastly,
Philadelphia Zoo (USA) had the ultra-rare, LEGO GLT species when I was there in 2010:
One could argue that Philly's exhibit was actually
too overstocked with Golden Lion Tamarins!
My Mammal List:
Gibbons -
143 zoos and 192 exhibits (9 species: 64 White-handed, 62 Siamang, 36 Northern White-cheeked, 12 Yellow-cheeked, 7 Southern Grey, 5 Pileated, 3 Silvery, 2 Agile, 1 Eastern Hoolock, with some zoos having multiple species)
Elephants -
104 zoos (61 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Spider Monkeys -
91 zoos and 95 exhibits (5 species: Black-headed, Colombian Brown, Geoffroy's, Red-faced Black, White-bellied)
Marmosets -
89 zoos and 101 exhibits (6 species: 39 Pygmy, 34 Common, 19 White-headed, 4 Silvery, 3 Black-tufted, 2 Wied's, with some zoos having multiple species)
Cotton-top Tamarins -
88 zoos
Macaques -
80 zoos and 113 exhibits (12 species: 25 Lion-tailed, 23 Japanese, 16 Barbary, 13 Sulawesi Crested, 10 Pig-tailed, 9 Rhesus, 7 Crab-eating, 4 Bonnet, 2 Stump-tailed, 2 Toque, 1 Booted, 1 Tonkean, including some zoos with multiple species)
Squirrel Monkeys -
78 zoos (2 species: Bolivian, Common)
Gorillas -
74 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Orangutans -
74 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Colobus Monkeys -
72 zoos (3 species: Angolan, King, Mantled Guereza)
Capuchins -
71 zoos and 81 exhibits (7 species: 44 Tufted, 19 White-faced, 9 Golden-bellied, 5 White-fronted, 2 Crested, 1 Hooded, 1 Wedge-capped, with 10 zoos having two species)
Chimpanzees -
64 zoos
Golden Lion Tamarins -
63 zoos
Guenons -
63 zoos and 95 exhibits (13 species: 28 De Brazza's, 15 Diana, 12 Wolf's Mona, 10 Red-tailed, 9 Lesser Spot-nosed, 7 Mona, 5 Blue, 2 L'Hoest's, 2 Owl-faced, 2 Roloway, 1 Greater Spot-nosed, 1 Moustached, 1 Sykes', with some zoos having multiple species)
Saki Monkeys -
58 zoos (2 species: 56 White-faced, 2 Bearded)
Langurs -
48 zoos (6 species: 17 Francois', 9 Dusky Leaf, 8 East Javan, 6 Hanuman, 6 Silvery Lutung, 2 Red-shanked Douc)
Baboons -
41 zoos and 49 exhibits (4 species: 31 Hamadryas, 11 Olive, 6 Guinea, 1 Yellow, with some zoos having multiple species)
Mandrills -
41 zoos
Howler Monkeys -
40 zoos (2 species: 34 Black, 6 Red)
Goeldi's Monkeys -
38 zoos
Mangabeys -
30 zoos (5 species: 11 Red-capped, 9 Black Crested, 6 Golden-bellied, 3 White-naped, 1 Sooty)
Douroucoulis -
22 zoos (5 species: Grey-legged, Humboldt's, Nancy Ma's, Southern Bolivian, Three-striped)
Patas Monkeys -
20 zoos
Titi Monkeys -
19 zoos (3 species: 11 White-eared, 7 Coppery, 1 Red-bellied)
Chlorocebus Monkeys -
17 zoos (3 species: Vervet, Green, Grivet)
Bonobos -
14 zoos
Allen's Swamp Monkeys -
10 zoos
Drills -
8 zoos
Geladas -
6 zoos
Northern Talapoin Monkeys -
4 zoos
Woolly Monkeys -
2 zoos