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Abstract Play is a complex behavior that is widespread among vertebrates. Despite the potential benefits for the development of social, cognitive and motor skills, play behavior has costs: energy expenditure, and the risks of injury and predation. As the fitness benefits of play are presumably to be gained as adults, we expect young animals to minimize its immediate costs. Here, we describe play behavior in golden lion tamarins (GLTs) (Leontopithecus rosalia) and test cost‐minimizing hypotheses. We collected data on play behavior and adult vigilance in nine groups (four wild and five supplemented, the latter deriving from a reintroduction) of wild‐living lion tamarins (16 infants) in Brazil. Results showed that play occupied 3.8% of the activity budget, occurred during the hottest times of the day, and was characterized by being mainly social, involving partners of different ages, and sometimes different species. We found no differences in playing time between wild and supplemented groups. The lion tamarins played less in ‘dangerous’ substrates (canopy branches and forest floor), and more in ‘safe’ substrates (large branches and vine tangles), and favored playing in the center of the group over the periphery. The reproductive animals were vigilant during 78% of the time the infants were playing, and were mostly oriented away from the playing animals. The observed organization of play behavior suggests that juvenile GLTs minimize the risk of predation and accidental injuries, but do not seem to minimize energy expenditure and the risks of social injuries. The social‐cognitive benefits acquired from experience of older partners during play may overcome the costs of the latter behavior, and because little time was spent in play, the energetic costs may be inconsequential.
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