Joel Sartore, An Endangered Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin

(Leontopithecus chrysomelas) at the Dallas World Aquarium, 2021.

 

Joel Sartore's photograph, An Endangered Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin, was shared with elementary and university students, along with other photos by Sartore from his project, PhotoArk. Some wrote responses after looking at the photo using this prompt: Imagine you speak the Tamarin language. What might it be saying to you? What might you say to it? This is a selection of responses:

He says to me, "My native homeland in Brazil, it was once very beautiful and lush. There were many colonies of my kind. We would roam the misty tropical forests, calling out to each other, our golden fur glowing like familiar beacons in the dim understory, reassuring us that we were surrounded by friends and family, we are ok. And for years, it was this way, thousands of years, so many generations. We played, we ate, foraging among the bromeliads whose pools contained a mini-universe of things we liked to eat. We thrived there. But then one day the people came…Your kind.” He points his thin finger at me. I look down. "They started chopping all the trees down. The bromeliads were crushed. Too much sunlight came in. The whole forest, it was altered forever. We screamed and hollered at them to stop this! You’re killing us! You’re destroying our home! But they didn’t even look at us. And then everything changed.”  - Susan Griffith

I think I'd ask Tamarin: Are you conscious? Do you know you will die? What is your favorite activity? What are your emotions like? Do you have one universal language or multiple? What is your culture like? Do you have ethics, laws, roles, and society? - Izzy Santos, university student

You are so beautiful in your tiny lion costume
And the roar you roared seemed real and alive
But your place in the rain and your canopied sky
Are but memories of who you once were before
While this is now after the golden crown fell
And the mane folded itself behind the ears
Where it tangled all the fibers from the mud
And left your place empty while endangered.  - Janice Mattina

-4th grader

The Tamarin would say to me: "Hi, my name is Bob. What's your name?" My name is Gigi, "Nice to meet you. What are you doing in a cage?" Bob says, "I'm in a cage because I am endangered, so if I lived in the wild right now, I would probably not live." - Gigi, 4th grader

The Tamarin says, "If you are willing to help me save my buddies, it would be very nice." - 4th grader

...Someone in this class will probably be saying, "look how cute I am." The words are not the purpose of the photo. We humanize and monsterize and bastardize creation and nature alike. The Tamarin is saying nothing. It's we, humanity, who should be speaking. - university student

Hello. I am longing. Longing for more. I am afraid my contained life and existence do not have meaning or hope for a future. I am a beautiful, unique creature that deserves to be known and cared for. Can you help me? And those like me?... - Tara, university student

My heart is breaking for you and for all of your brothers and sisters across all species who are in danger. I promise to do what I can to take care of your future by taking care of our shared world. We live on this planet together and, I Am Your Voice... - Peg

Participants were also invited to imagine one thing they could say or do to inspire care for all those living in their neighborhoods, humans, furred, scaled, feathered, and other creatures. Here are some things that were said:

Put a night GoPro outside and see all the animals that live with us. Show my friends the video.

I will put vinegar on the weeds in my driveway instead of Round-up.

I will not buy water in plastic bottles and tell my friend why I'm not doing that anymore.

Buy plants that are native to where I live.

Not ask for a drink when I fly because they use plastic cups!!!

Turn the outdoor lights out so the turtles aren't confused.

Not feed seagulls so they can catch fish instead of eat French Fries.

Pick up litter at the beach with my friends.

Have a garage sale to recycle my stuff and give the money to Joel Sartore.

Visit ewg.org or earth.org to learn how to be helpful to the planet and others.

Wildewood Wonders was shared as an example of noticing, delighting, and inspiring care for all creatures and their habitats on a blog.

Joel Sartore is the founder of the National Geographic Photo Ark, an on-going effort to photograph every living species. Since 2006, in over 50 countries, he has made portraits of over 12,000 captivated animals, with the hope of documenting them “before they disappear--and to get people to care while there's still time."