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Male and female sakis spend much of their time together, engaging in social grooming.

Home > Meet Our Animals > Mammals > Primates > White-faced saki
White-faced saki
Pithecia pithecia
 
Size Adult white-faced saki males measure 13.0-14.8in (330-375mm) and females measure 13.2-13.5in (335-343mm) with tails measuring 13.7-17.5in (348-445mm) for males and 13.5-17.1in (342-435mm) for females.
Weight Adult white-faced saki males measure 34.0-88.2oz (964-2500g) and females measure 27.5-61.7oz (779-1750g).
Conservation Status
Diet n the wild white-faced sakis spend the majority of their day foraging for food in the lower forest canopy where they feed primarily on seeds and nuts. They will also consume a variety of fruit and insects. At the Zoo, the white-faced sakis are offered a base diet of canned primate food. The enrichment portion of the diet includes a variety of seeds and nuts, fruits and insects. The keepers offer a different assortment of approved dietary items each day and food is offered numerous times daily to promote normal feeding behaviors.
Geographic Range Distributed throughout the northern Amazon basin, white-faced saki range in the moist lowland, submontane rainforest, and swamp forests of Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, and Venezuela.
Where to find me in the Zoo Rare Animal Conservation Center
Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
Sakis are sexually dimorphic. Males are black with white faces and females are brown.

Longevity

A typical lifespan for sakis in zoos is 17yrs. The lifespan for wild saki monkeys not known, but is likely to be shorter than in zoos.

Behavior

White-faced saki are monogomous and live in small multimale-multifemale family groups consisting of the parents and 2-3 offspring. Sakis are terrestrial, moving through the forest both quadrupedally and by leaping (sometimes long distances).

Reproduction

Young white-faced sakis are independent after 6 months. They give birth to single offspring and the infant clings to the mother for the first few weeks of life, after which the male or one of the infant's siblings may also carry it.


 
Bugsy: Male, born at Cincinnati Zoo on September 10, 1995.  He arrived here on August 24, 2000.
 
Mona: Female, born at San Diego Zoo on May 3, 1990.  She arrived here on August 24, 2000.

Bugsy and Mona have produced a number of offspring here at the Zoo, one of which still lives with them.

Meadow: Female, born February 4, 2006.

Enrichment


Adoption Information


Featured Foster Parent


Fun Facts

  • They have an interesting threat display in which they fluff up their hair by shaking their bodies and stomping their feet while arching their back.

Conservation


Introductions


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Sources: 1) Hershkovitz P. 1979. The species of saki genus Pithecia (Cebidae, Primates) with notes on sexual dimorphism. Folia Primatol 31:1-22; 2) Ford SM, Davis LC. 1992. Systematics and body size: implications for feeding adaptation in New World monkeys. AJPA 88:415-468; 3) Kinzey WG. 1997. Pithecia. In: Kinzey WG, editor. New World Primates: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. New York: Aldine de Gruyter; 4) Fleagle JG, Meldrum DJ. 1998. Locomotor behavior and skeletal morphology of two sympatric Pithecine monkeys, Pithecia pithecia and Chiropotes satanas. Am J Primatol 16:227-249; 5) Sussman RW. 2000. Primate Ecology and Social Structure, Volume 2: New World Monkeys. Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing. p. 157-159.