A typical family group consists of a mated pair plus their youngest offspring. In tamarin society, males and females mate for life and take equal part in raising their young. Vocalizations among golden-headed lion tamarins are based on activity and behavior. Trills are used when activity is solitary. Clucks can be heard while an animal is foraging.
Long calls indicate vigilance.
The cocoa industry is fairly large in Brazil. Because cocoa plants grow best in shade, plantation owners prefer to have forests surrounding their crop. The tamarins, after being pushed out of their native forests, have started to move into these plantation forests. Appendix I Leontopithecus chrysomela numbers have been significantly depleted over the past several years. The remaining wild population, which exists only in a small region of Brazil, includes a total of 200 animals.