WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The golden lion tamarin, a small monkey, was nearly extinct in the wild until the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society and other zoos intervened.

A new exhibit opened at the zoological park at 1301 Summit Boulevard in West Palm Beach. Mike Terrell said the little monkeys love to eat worms and sometimes sound like birds.

“Two of our golden lion tamarinds here were born here at the zoo,” Terrell said.

In the eastern coast of Brazil, deforestation decreased the population to just about 200 in the 1970s. The conservation efforts increased the population to more than 2,000 in the wild.

“Scientists determine which animals can mate and can come together and have offspring, and then the zoos and aquariums work together to move those animals to where they need to go,” Terrell said.

It is known as The A-Z-A Species Survival Plan

“When you come to Palm Beach Zoo, you’re helping preserve these species,” Terrell said.

The exhibit also includes sloths.

“They can just hang upside down, essentially lock their toes in place so they are not exerting any energy, and that’s how they can sleep and rest,” Terrell said. “Tamarins would normally live in the same space as sloths in the wild.”

The exhibit also includes massive Malaysian tigers, jaguars, anteaters, Siamang gibbons, and spider monkeys. Matthew Warren, Mallory Olin, and Clarence Furtado were among the guests who said they enjoyed visiting the zoo.

“I saw a lot of animals that I had never seen before in person,” Warren said.

For more information about visting the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, visit this page.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.