Free-ranging tamarins in the Mata Atlantica (The Atlantic forest). About sixty years ago, human began heavily deforesting the Atlantic forest, which once rivaled the Amazon in size. Many endemic species either went extinct, or came very close. The golden lion tamarin's population fell below 200. And then humans stepped in, in a good way. The Golden Lion Tamarin Association was formed. Captive individuals from Zoos all over the world were "trained" to live in the "wild," and then were reintroduced into protected areas. Major reforestation projects followed. Today, the GLT population is steady at 1,700, thanks to the Association.