Pithecia pithecia
White-faced sakis belong to the group of New World monkeys. They are commonly recognised for the males’ distinctive white face. The males have long black fur, while the females have much lighter greyish coats with bright patches. They have a bushy tail and long thin fingers.
Pithecia pithecia
White-faced sakis belong to the group of New World monkeys. They are commonly recognised for the males’ distinctive white face. The males have long black fur, while the females have much lighter greyish coats with bright patches. They have a bushy tail and long thin fingers.
White-faced sakis live in rainforests in Brazil, Guyana, Venezuala, Suriname and French Guiana. They are found in the lower canopy of the forest rather than high in trees.
Approximately 15 years in the wild and over 20 years in zoos.
White-faced sakis mostly eat fruit and seeds. They also eat leaves, flowers, insects and other small animals. They have strong teeth that they use to crush hard seed shells and peel fruit.
South American House.
The closest relative of the white-faced saki is the golden-faced saki, which had previously been considered a subspecies of the white-faced Saki.
Mammalia
Primates
White-faced sakis are nicknamed ‘flying monkeys’ due to their ability to leap up to 10 meters from branch to branch.
Only the males have the signature white faces. The female’s face is grey, brown or red.
The White-faced saki’s long tail is not prehensile like other monkeys. This means that they cannot use it to grab onto branches in the way that other monkeys do.
White-faced sakis live in groups that vary in size from 4-12 individuals. It had been thought that they were monogamous (having only one mate at a time), but this is now believed to be the case only in zoos rather than in the wild. Adolescent siblings help with raising infants if they still live with their parents.
Infant
Approximately 5 months
1
Around 3 years
32-40cm in height, 1.8-2.4kg in weight
32-40cm in height, 1.4-1.9kg in weight
The white-faced saki is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Unknown
The main threats to the white-faced saki are the destruction of their habitat due to deforestation and being hunted for the pet trade.
Dublin Zoo is part of the European breeding programme for the white-faced sakis and has successfully bred a number of sakis.
Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now
