WHITE-FACED SAKI MONKEY

Pithecia pithecia

ORDER

Primates

FAMILY

Pitheciidae

HABITAT AND RANGE

Tropical rainforests of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela.

IDENTIFICATION

Adult males are black with a white face. Females are brownish grey and have a narrow white stripe on the face between the eye and the mouth. This gender difference is not evident at birth but starts at month 2. Their legs are much longer that their arms. Males have a large area on the throat extending onto the chest that is bald. Males average 3.5 lbs and females average 3 lbs.

DIET

They are omnivores but most of the diet is fruit (berries mostly), leaves, and flowers. They can eat small birds and mammals. They have been seen going into hollow trees to collect bats, which they tear apart and skin before eating. In the zoo we feed them fruits, vegetables and monkey chow.

REPRODUCTION AND LIFESPAN

After a pregnancy of 146 days the females give birth to one grizzled brown infant. which clings to the mother for a couple of weeks. The mother’s nipples are located near the armpits. In the beginning the baby holds on under her belly and later rides on her back. The male or one of its siblings may carry the juvenile after that. At two months, young males begin changing color -- to black with white faces. But females remain brown. They are independent of mom and Dad by 6 months. They stay and help care for the next siblings born. They live in small family groups of parents and 2 or 3 offspring.
They live up to 14 years in captivity.

NOTES

These arboreal monkeys are fast moving and shy, so very little is known about their behaviour in the wild. They move mainly in leaps and jumps of up to 10m have been recorded, native people call them 'flying monkeys' for this reason. They rarely come to the ground and prefer the middle level of forests. They can run upright along branches. They are active during the daytime (diurnal). While usually silent in zoos they can make a loud call. An aggressive Saki monkey signals his displeasure with body shaking, foot stamping, pouffed hair, arched posture and a loud growl. They can make chirping sounds. They are hunted for food and captured as pets.