The bald uakari (Cacajao calvus) is a small, arboreal New World monkey native to a small, broken range in Brazil and Peru in seasonally flooded forests of the Amazon River Basin. They eat nuts and hard, unripe fruit that other primates are unable to access thanks to their powerful jaws. 67% of their diet consists of these seeds and nuts, followed by fruit and flowers, with occasional animal prey (5%). They are also known to take insects that they encounter, but they don’t actively seek them as a food source.
Their distinctive red faces are due to both a lack of pigmentation and the presence of many capillaries beneath the surface of the skin. Sickly uakaris are therefore dramatically more pale, signaling potential mates to what could be poor genetics. The breeding period is between October and May, and females attract males with scent that signals her readiness to mate.
The IUCN lists the bald uakari as Vulnerable due to habitat loss and hunting. Due to their specific habitat needs and limited range, deforestation is particularly damaging.
Did anyone else think of Hellboy when they saw this thing’s face in the Radar thumbnail?
