The black lion tamarin is the most endangered species within Leontopithecus, and the IUCN has recorded their population to be declining.[11] The main threat against it is the destruction of its habitat through deforestation,[2] though it is also threatened by being hunted in unprotected forests, such as the Fazenda Rio Claro and the Fazenda Tucano (which have roughly 3.66 and 1.0 individuals per square kilometer respectively).[11]