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Project Noah Nature School
Pithecia Monachus
Saki monkeys are small sized primates, with adults weighing in around 2kg (4lbs) - about the size of a large rabbit. They have long nonprehensile tails, so they rely on just their hands and feet to move from branch to branch in rainforest canopy trees. Monk Saki monkeys are often confused with their close cousin, the equatorial saki. Equatorial sakis have an orange throat, chest and belly, which the Monk Saki lacks.
Monk sakis are diurnal (active during the day) and spend their time foraging in the middle to upper levels of the rainforest canopy. They travel in small family groups in search of fruits, seeds, leaves, and ants. They prefer terra firme forest but have been spotted in seasonally flooded forests as well. Monk sakis tend to be shy and quiet and avoid disturbed areas, making them a challenge to see in the wild.
These photos were taken an Isla de los Monos, an island refuge for Amazon primates who have been injured and orphaned in the wild or for monkeys that have been rescued from human captors. The monkeys have free range on the island and will eventually leave the island and return to the wild.
Spotted on Jul 15, 2012
Submitted on Jan 24, 2013
30 Comments (1–25)
Yay! Just learned how to tell the difference between a Monk Saki and their cousin the Equatorial Saki. Check the notes for how to tell them apart.
Thanks for your kind words and recognition of our Saki Monkey spotting! Telse, Kittuandme, SatyenM, Leana Lehom-Cristobal, Leuba, AnnalisaD, AntonioGinjaGinja,IrinaCher, Jakubko, LeanneGardner, Maria dB, Joshua Asel, Carol Milne, Fyn Kynd, Reza Hashemizadeh, IsabellaFiers, Sachin Zaveri, YukoChartraw, NuwanChathuranga, LuisStevens, Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman, KarenL, and Seema!
What a beautiful face. Precious. Well done!
Congrats on the SOTW ! Nice pic!
Lovely! Congratulations!
Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and support! We would love to have your help adding ID and field notes to some of the other species in our misson. http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8910...
Congratulations AmazonWorkshops!
Congratulations ! Thanks for sharing this with us and thanks for your wonderful work, AmazonWorkshops.
Wow great capture and congrats! I love the first image, it's expressions is kind of pensive.
Thanks for letting us know Antonio! We are so glad our shot of this monkey will help bring greater awareness to the Amazon. It will certainly help further our efforts to educate others about the importance of conserving this amazing global resource!
Congrats again AmazonWorkshops,this spotting,is the National Geographic spotting of the week,i read it in FB now :-)
Adorable! Must be a very happy moment for you!
Fantastic! Congratulations!
Congratulations on your wonderful SOTD :)
Congratulations on the spotting of the day. This could also be added to the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation mission: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/9974...
Great capture AmazonWorkshops,congrats on the well deserved SOTD,thanks for sharing and for the amazing conservation work
Congrats! Beautiful spotting.
Congratulations! So unusual. Awesome!
Awesome spot! Congrats!
Congratulations on this wonderful SotD !
Wonderful !!
Thanks everyone - especially the Rangers who help us identify so many of our spottings! We are gearing up for another Amazon expedition in July and hope we can enlist Ranger help in correctly identifying our current spottings before we add the next big round!
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8910...
Congratulations !!
This beautiful monk saki monkey makes me want to cheer him (her?) up!
Congratulations on your SOTD for this great spotting!
great spotting, Congratulations !!