Golden lion tamarins and sloths become unlikely roommates at Palm Beach Zoo

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Golden lion tamarins and sloths become unlikely roommates at Palm Beach Zoo

2025-09-27 12:05 Last Updated At：12:40

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Golden lion tamarins and Hoffman's two-toed sloths have become unlikely roommates in a brand new habitat at the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society in Florida.

Both species are native to the forests of South America, which is why the new habitat features a thick canopy of trees. The golden tamarins, with their distinct orange mane, love frolicking in the treetops, while the sloths are perfectly happy hanging from the trees.

“Maybe the golden tamarins think of the sloth as more furniture because they don’t really do too much. They’re more sedentary,” said Devin Clarke, a senior supervisor at the zoo. "They like to sleep during the day, a little bit more active at night. So just watching, you know, like their couch walking around at night isn’t too scary for them.”

The habitat, which opened in late August, offers the sloths and tamarins a unique space to interact with one another — or mind their own business. The space features a network of vines, ropes and tunnels that encourages exploration, zoo officials said.

“Just being able to see them up close and personal is really a way to inspire connection,” Clarke said. “And once people start really having that connection and harboring that connection with the wild animal, they’re able to look at their lives and say, ‘What can I do differently to help these animals’ wild counterparts down in Brazil and Central America thrive?’”

He said that in the 1970s, there were less than 200 golden tamarinds in the wild. Some 40 zoos accredited through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums put together a plan to rerelease the species into the wild. Their numbers topped 5,000 as of last year, he said.

The previous tamarin habitat at the zoo was a little smaller, Clarke said.

“We wanted to be able to give them a better well-being, so enhancing their lives with enrichment, with space, so they can act a little bit more natural,” he added.

Conservation is part of the Palm Beach Zoo's identity, so native Florida plants are part of the new habitat.

“Planting those Florida native plants within that habitat is a great way to highlight something we can do at our own homes ,” Clarke said. “Even if you have an apartment, just putting out a potted plant that’s a Florida native plant helps kind of revitalize the ecosystem that we have here in South Florida.”

The new habitat provides an opportunity for visitors to have get a closer view of the two species, said Margo McKnight, the zoo's president and CEO.

“We hope to foster a love for wildlife in wild places, including our own backyards. We hope every person leaves inspired to be a wildlife hero in their own community,” she said.

Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Trump administration to direct more water to California farms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration is making good on a promise to send more water to California farmers in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday announced a new plan for operating the Central Valley Project, a vast system of pumps, dams and canals that direct water southward from the state’s wetter north. It follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January calling for more water to flow to farmers, arguing the state was wasting the precious resource in the name of protecting endangered fish species.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the plan will help the federal government “strengthen California’s water resilience." It takes effect Friday.

But California officials and environmental groups blasted the move, saying sending significantly more water to farmlands could threaten water delivery to the rest of the state and would harm salmon and other fish.

Most of the state’s water is in the north, but most of its people are in the south. The federally-managed Central Valley Project works in tandem with the state-managed State Water Project, which sends water to cities that supply 27 million Californians. The systems transport water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary that provides critical habitat to fish and wildlife including salmon and the delta smelt.

It is important for the two systems to work together, Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. She warned the Trump administration’s plan could limit the state's ability to send water to cities and farmers. That is because the state could be required to devote more water to species protection if the federal project sends more to farms.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director at Restore the Delta, said pumping more water out would result in more Delta smelt and juvenile salmon dying from getting stuck in the pumping system, and once the temperature warms, harmful algae blooms will develop that are dangerous to fish, wildlife, pets and people. That could have economic impacts, she said.

“When you destroy water quality and divorce it from land, you are also destroying property values,” she said. “Nobody wants to live near a fetid, polluted backwater swamp.”

The Bureau of Reclamation denied the changes would harm the environment or endangered species.

The Central Valley Project primarily sends water to farms, with a much smaller amount going to cities and industrial use. Water from the Central Valley Project irrigates roughly one-third of California agriculture, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Westlands Water District, one of the largest uses of Central Valley Project water, cheered the decision. It “will help ensure that our growers have the water they need to support local communities and the nation’s food supply, while also protecting California’s wildlife,” general manager Allison Febbo said in a statement.

But Vance Staplin, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, said in a statement that protections for salmon are already weak and some runs that rely on the water are close to being wiped out. He called for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom “to file a lawsuit to challenge this unlawful federal move.”

During Trump's first term, he allowed more water to be directed to the Central Valley, a move that Newsom fought in court, saying it would push endangered delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout populations to extinction. The Biden administration changed course, adopting its own water plan in 2024 that environmental groups said was a modest improvement. Newsom did not immediately comment Thursday on the new decision.

Trump renewed his criticism of the state's water policies after the Los Angeles-area fires broke out in January and some fire hydrants ran dry. The Central Valley Project does not supply water to Los Angeles.

The president dubbed his January executive order “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.”

Golden reported from Seattle.