Brazil designated a refuge twice the size of Manhattan near the Amazonian city of Manaus in June 2024 to protect the pied tamarin, South America’s most endangered monkey.
But almost one year later, the 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) reserve is still being implemented institutionally, and conservationists say it falls short of what the species needs to survive.
Pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor) live exclusively in the forests surrounding Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state and home to 2.2 million people. Their range spans just 800,000 hectares (about 2 million acres), much of it now fragmented by roads, farmland and urban sprawl into isolated forest patches.
“They’re a very unlucky species for having happened to choose Manaus,” Diogo Lagroteria, head of the pied tamarin conservation committee at Brazil’s conservation agency, ICMBio, told Mongabay by phone. “The pied tamarin has a very small range that sits in the eye of the storm of the Amazon.”
The recently decreed Pied Tamarin Wildlife Refuge joins five other forested areas, including a military training ground and the Rio Urubu Indigenous Territory, to become the sixth patch of standing forest within the monkey’s range. Conservationists say it’s a step in the right direction, but without more protected forest corridors connecting these forest fragments, the risk of a population collapse caused by loss of habitat, inbreeding and roadkill remains high.
“When we created this refuge, we filled a gap in the species’ range where there was no protection at all,” Lagroteria said. “But the refuge alone won’t guarantee the species’ survival.”
Pied tamarins are smaller than a red squirrel, at 21-28 centimeters (8-11 inches), with a hairless black face, fluffy white upper body, and pointy ears. They’re known to be feisty and confrontational.
“These tamarins will lift themselves up and start shouting right at you in tamarin,” Dom Wormell, director of the U.K.-based Tamarin Trust, told Mongabay by phone. “They’re always talking, with 35 to 40 different calls. They’re highly intelligent animals.”
The pied tamarin became the mascot of Manaus in 2005, and efforts to raise awareness of its plight have been in the works for decades. However, challenges remain for engaging communities near the wildlife refuge.
“Conversations with local communities are still in the early stages. We’ve had some field visits and held one public hearing so far,” Lagroteria said. “We want the residents to be involved and help us preserve the area. But some people invaded land in recent years and are trying to legalize their land claims.”
Lagroteria added the goal is to ensure the refuge benefits both local populations and pied tamarins. Early efforts include installing wildlife bridges over roads to prevent tamarin roadkill deaths, and planting native fruit trees that both feed the animals and generate income for nearby families.
Banner image: The pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) is one of the world’s most endangered monkeys. Image courtesy of Diogo Lagroteria.
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