Uakari

Uakari, which is also commonly known as the New World monkeys belong to the genus Cacajao. Uakari monkeys include several types of short-tailed South American monkeys which have shaggy furs, humanlike ears, and distinctive bald faces. These bald faces become flushed when the animal is excited. These creatures are found to be acrobatic and athletic, launching themselves from high branches. They are seen bouncing on small tree limbs, thus moving from one tree to another with their arms outstretched. The term Uakari is actually pronounced as “wakari”, and their common name and scientific name are thought to have derived from indigenous languages.

On this page, we will discuss the Uakari monkey species and its general characteristics. Students who are unfamiliar with uakari meaning can refer to this page for detailed information on this particular topic.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of Bald Uakari or Bald-Headed Uakari (Cacajao calvus)

The uakaris have a tail length ranging from 15 cm to 18 cm, which is substantially less than their head and body length, which ranges from 40cm to 45 cm. They have bald heads with their bodies covered with long, loose hair but their heads are bald. The Uakaris do not consist of subcutaneous fat, and hence, their bald faces appear mostly skull-like. Like their closest relatives the saki monkeys, they have projecting lower incisors. These monkeys have the most striking red facial skin of any primate. Females choose their mates based on how red the male's face is. Evidence suggests that the red facial colouration reflects the health of the primate.

When kept in zoo conditions, the Uakaris are typically found to be lethargic and silent. While they are equally agile and active in the wild and are also capable of leaps of over 6 meters. It has also been observed that these uakari monkeys dwell both in small groups as well as in larger troops of up to 100. When travelling through the forest they move in the lower branches of the trees, though when foraging they also go up to the canopy. They eat fruit, nuts, buds and leaves.

Uakaris are mostly distributed in neotropical flooded or riparian Amazon forests, including Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

Uakari Scientific Classification

The Uakari monkeys are grouped under the family Pitheciidae. This particular family comprises three genera of medium-sized monkeys. They are the Pithecia, Chiropotes, and Cacajao. The genus Chiropotes and Cacajao are more closely related to one another as compared to that with Pithecia.

Given below is the scientific classification of the Uakari monkey belonging to the genus Cacajao.

Physical Characteristics of Uakari

Some of the identifiable physical features of the Uakari monkeys are given below:

• The Uakari monkeys are a group of small-sized primates that have an average body length of 45 cm and mostly weigh around 3 kg.

• The tails of these species are comparatively very short to that of their body size. The length of the tails is also particularly short as compared to those of other South American monkey species. 

• The fur that covers the Uakari’s body is long and coarse and tends to vary in colour, from red, to brown, to black, to white, depending on the species. 

• The most distinctive feature of the uakari monkeys is their hairless face which is mostly deep red in colour in some species. But this colour ranges from pink to red, and can even be paler or even black in colour as per the type of species. 

• They have strong and agile hands and feet along with opposable thumbs which allow the Uakari to hold onto fruits and tree branches.

Types of Uakari Monkeys

The Uakaris are a small species of monkey that are most abundantly found in the tropical rainforests of South America, where they are found inhabiting the moist jungle that is close to water. The Uakari monkeys are most commonly known for their naked face which most commonly ranges from pink to deep red in colour. 

There are four distinct types of Uakari species. These four species are:

1. The Bald Uakari or Red Uakari

2. The Black-Headed Uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus)

3. The Ayres Black Uakari (Cacajao ayresi), and

4. The Neblina Uakari

All of the above species are quite similar in appearance to each other but differ somewhat in fur colour and location. An alternative taxonomy was proposed in the year 2014 by Ferrari et al. that recognizes the Ayres Black Uakari (Cacajao ayresi) as a subspecies of the black-headed uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus), also known as the golden-backed uakari.

The black-headed uakari (C. melanocephalus) got its name because of its appearance, i.e., its face, shoulders, arms, hands, and feet are black in colour. They have a coating of chestnut colour consisting of a saddle of reddish or yellowish hair. They are most abundantly found in southern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, and northwestern Brazil. The male black-headed uakaris, on the other hand, are particularly red in colour, which as per some scientific speculations are used to attract females uakaris. Also,  since the colour of male uakari pales with malaria, their bright colour might help the females to select healthy mates while breeding.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of Black-headed uakari (C. melanocephalus)

The red uakaris or bald-headed uakari consist of three different subspecies, i.e., Cacajao calvus rubicundus, C. calvus novaesi, and C. calvus ucayalii. They are commonly known for their bright red-coloured face. This coating ranges from reddish-brown to reddish-orange colour in appearance. They are mostly found to dwell in flooded forests along the upper Amazon River and its tributaries in eastern Peru and western Brazil. 

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of red bald-headed uakari

The white uakari or bald uakari (C. calvus calvus) is a different form of the same bald-headed species that are found in different colours. It has got the name of ‘white uakari’ due to the presence of whitish fur throughout its body.  The white uakaris are found only in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve along the upper Amazon in Brazil. They are also called the “English monkey” by the locals because of their vermilion face.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

White uakari (C. calvus calvus)

Uakari Distribution and Habitat

Uakaris are most commonly found inhabiting the moist, tropical rainforest of the Amazon River Basin throughout Brazil and Peru, and also in some parts of southern Columbia. The different species of Uakari are often easily characterised by their differing locations, and this also includes the sub-species of the Bald Uakari. The White Uakari species are distributed in north-western Brazil while the Golden Uakari can be found on the Brazil-Peru border and the Red Uakari on the Brazil-Colombia border.

The Uakari species are commonly found to live in jungles that fringe freshwater sources such as streams, small rivers and lakes. They mostly prefer to dwell in areas of rainforest that line large rivers or in the part-flooded forest that is either permanently flooded or on a seasonal basis.

Uakari Monkeys - Behaviour and  Relationship with Humans

Unlike several other species of primates or monkeys, the Uakari monkeys do not use their short tails while jumping or hanging from the trees, although it is still useful for balance. They are seen spending most of their time in the high canopy and jumping from tree to tree by using their strong arms and legs. Like many other primates, the Uakari monkeys also walk on all four limbs during their rare trips down the forest floor. They are often found to live in troops that usually contain 10 to 30 members amidst the jungle environment. The Uakari troops can also include almost 100 members including all the males, females and their offspring. Although this group of monkeys are known to spend much of their time in the trees, the Uakari troop can also be found foraging in smaller groups when it comes to looking for food.

From the time when native tribes inhabited the jungles of the Amazon Basin, humans and Uakaris have been known to one another. The Uakari species are also considered a stable source of food by many indigenous people and are often hunted by them with the use of poison-tipped darts. Many species of Uakari were also captured and kept as domestic pets or even sold by the local people. This as a result has caused the Uakari to remain under threat from Humans. Deforestation for commercial reasons, expansion of growing human settlements are also causing a threat to the Uakari species. Many Uakaris as well as the native tribes lose their home every year due to the cutting down of enormous stretches of the Amazon basins.

Uakari Reproduction and Life Cycles

The breeding period for Uakari starts between the months of October and May. During this period, the female Uakaris are found to release an attractive scent in order to attract a mate and give birth to a single infant after mating. The gestation period in female Uakaris is still unknown, but it has been found that they can give birth every two years. The baby uakaris are born incredibly small and vulnerable.

They are seen clinging to the mother Uakari for the first few months and feed only on her milk. They start foraging with the troops for soft fruits and seed pods at an average age of four months. They have a lifespan of about 20 years in the wild but are known to have a very slow population growth rate. The female Uakaris are unable to breed until they are three years old, while it is six years for the males.

Uakari Animals - What do they eat?

Like most primates, the Uakari monkeys also have an omnivorous diet. Hence, these creatures feed on a combination of both plant material and small animals. Besides this, they are also found primarily to feed on fruits and leaves from the surrounding trees along with some insects to supplement their diet. The Uakari collect most of its food from the high canopies but mainly forage on the forest floor to feed on seeds, roots and lizards during food scarcity in the trees. As these creatures have a predominantly fruit-based diet, they also play a vital role in their native ecosystem by the spreading of seeds throughout the forest.

Uakari Predators and Threats

The Uakaris are the group of monkeys that mostly occupy the high forest canopies and are found dwelling in large groups. As a result, they often fall prey to other tree-dwelling species such as Snakes and larger Monkeys. These predators hunt upon these Uakaris, more particularly their young ones. Humans are also known as the biggest threat to these Uakari monkeys. They are often hunted through much of their natural range by the native people as a source of stable food. The high levels of logging throughout the Amazon Basin for the timber industry has also created a threat to the rainforest habitat of the Uakari species.

Uakari Monkey Facts

Apart from knowing the Uakari meaning and characteristics, students must also know about the following Bald Uakari facts:

1. In spite of having a short tail, these Uakari monkeys are able to jump from one tree to another with the help of their strong hind legs. They can cover staggering distances by the use of their hind legs. 

2. They can jump as high as 20 metres between the branches. 

3. Bald uakaris are able to split thick fruit skins easily with the help of their developed fangs.

4. The red face of the Bald uakari species is used to attract mates. It is said that the species with the reddest faces are considered to be the most attractive ones.

5. They have strong jaws and sharp teeth which allow these monkeys to crack tough nuts, unlike other monkeys or primates.

6. The Uakaris wags their short tails when excited and take out an unusual vocalization quite similar to hysterical laughter.

7. The Bald uakari species usually erect their fur and make clicking sounds when threatened. They are also found wagging their tails.

8. They have 10 various facial expressions for communication.