Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Scientific Name: Pithecia pithecia

Range: Southern & eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, northeastern Brazil

Habitat: Forest areas at elevations of 700 to 2,500 feet.

Diet: Wild: Berries, fruit, honey, leaves, flowers, small mammals Zoo: New World monkey chow, fruit, carrots, yams, lettuce, endive, primate diet, mealworms

Gestation: 150 days

Litter: 1

Description: Head and body length are 12 to 28"; tail length 10.2 to 21.8"; weight 2.4 to 5.75 lbs. The male is uniformly black with a white crown, face and throat. The females are predominately blackish or brownish. Sakis are essentially diurnal and arboreal, descending only occasionally to lower branches or shrubs in their search for food. They seldom descend to the ground or climb to the treetops because their major predators (small cats, large snakes and avian raptors) inhabit these niches. While usually moving on all fours, they are capable of making long leaps through trees, and have been observed running in an erect posture along horizontal branches. Pale-headed sakis sleep curled on a branch like a cat, and sometimes hang by their hind feet when feeding. Sakis are monogamous

Where in the Zoo? I can be found in the New World Monkey Exhibits at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.