Photograph by Mattias Klum
Map
Red Uakari Range
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Mammal
- Diet:
- Herbivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 15 to 20 years
- Size:
- 14 to 22.5 in (36 to 57 cm)
- Weight:
- 4.4 to 6.6 lbs (2 to 3 kg)
- Group name:
- Troop
- Protection status:
- Endangered
- Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Uakaris are small South American primates with striking bald heads and bright red faces. (They may be attractive to mates because malarial or sick animals develop pale faces.) They have a long, shaggy coat that varies from reddish brown to orange. These monkeys live only in the Amazon River basin, preferring permanently or seasonally flooded rain forests and locations near water sources, such as small rivers and lakes.
Unlike most monkeys, uakaris have very short tails, but move nimbly in the trees without them by using their arms and legs.
These New World monkeys live in groups called troops and are quite social animals. Such gatherings may include close to a hundred animals, but uakaris split up during the day to forage in smaller groups of one to ten individuals. At night they sleep aloft, high in the rain forest canopy.
Uakaris forage during the day. They eat a fruit-heavy diet, but also consume leaves and some insects. Their powerful jaws can open a hardy Brazil nut. Most food is gathered in the trees, though during dry periods when food is scarce, uakaris will go to the ground in search of fallen seeds or roots.
Females give birth to just a single infant every two years. Reproductive ages are three (females) and six (males), so populations cannot experience rapid growth.
Unfortunately, these intelligent primates are on the verge of extinction. They are hunted in their Amazon forest homes for food and sometimes captured by indigenous peoples. They are also threatened by the destruction of their environment, as the timber industry clears ever increasing swaths of Amazon forest.
Mammal Features
-
Animal Conservation
Find out what National Geographic Society is doing to save animals all over the world, and learn what you can do to help.
-
Crittercam Helps Study Rare Species
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the oldest species of seal on the planet. But their tenure in paradise is perilously close to its end; only about 1,100 seals remain in the wild.
-
Lions Quiz
The king of cats rules with a roar and a fierce bite. What else do you know about this top predator?
-
Cause an Uproar
Big cats are quickly disappearing. Now is the time to act. Cause an uproar to save big cats today.
Animals
- Aardvark
- Adélie Penguin
- African Elephant
- African Lion
- African Wild Dog
- Albatross
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- Amazon Horned Frog
- American Alligator
- American Bison
- American Bullfrog
- American Crocodile
- Ammonite
- Andean Condor
- Anglerfish
- Ankylosaurus Magniventris
- Ant
- Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
- Arctic Fox
- Arctic Hare
- Arctic Skua
- Armadillo
- Asian Elephant
- Asian Lion
- Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
- Atlantic Puffin
- Aye-Aye
- Baboon
- Bactrian Camel
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Beaver
- Beluga Whale
- Bengal Tiger
- Bird of Paradise
- Black Bear
- Black-Footed Ferret
- Black Mamba
- Black Rhinoceros
- Blacktip Shark
- Black Widow Spider
- Bluebird
- Blue Crab
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Blue Jay
- Blue Marlin
- Blue Whale
- Boa Constrictor
- Bobcat
- Bottlenose Dolphin
- Box Jellyfish
- Brachychampsa Montana
- Brown Bear
- Bull Shark
- Burmese Python
- Butterflyfish
- California Condor
- California Sea Lion
- Canada Goose
- Cane Toad
- Canvasback
- Caribou
- Carolina Wren
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Chipmunk
- Cicada
- Clouded Leopard
- Clown Anemonefish
- Coelacanth
- Common Earthworm
- Common Loon
- Common Octopus
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Vampire Bat
- Common Wombat
- Coral
- Cottontail Rabbit
- Coyote
- Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
- Cuban Screech Owl
- Cubera Snapper
- Deer Tick
- Devil Frog
- Dingo
- Dog Snapper
- Dolichorhynchops Osborni
- Domestic Cat
- Domestic Dog
- Draco Lizard
- Dugong
- Eastern Coral Snake
- Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Eastern Gray Kangaroo
- Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
- Electric Eel
- Elephant Seal
- Elk
- Emperor Penguin
- Fennec Fox
- Firefly (Lightning Bug)
- Flying Fish
- Flying Snake
- Fossa
- Frilled Lizard
- Fur Seal
- Galápagos Tortoise
- Gelada
- Gentoo Penguin
- Geographic Cone Snail
- Giant Anteater
- Giant Clam
- Giant Pacific Octopus
- Giant Panda
- Giant River Otter
- Giant Squid
- Gibbon
- Gila Monster
- Giraffe
- Golden Cowrie
- Golden Eagle
- Golden Jellyfish
- Golden Lion Tamarin
- Golden Poison Dart Frog
- Gray Whale
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Greater Flamingo
- Greater Rhea
- Great Horned Owl
- Great White Shark
- Green Anaconda
- Green Basilisk Lizard
- Green-Eyed Tree Frog
- Green Iguana
- Green Sea Turtle
- Grizzly Bear
- Groundhog
- Hammerhead Shark
- Harbor Porpoise
- Harp Seal
- Hawaiian Monk Seal
- Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Hedgehog
- Henodus Chelyops
- Hesperornis Regalis
- Hippopotamus
- Honeybee
- Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
- Hornet
- Horse
- Howler Monkey
- Humpback Whale
- Impala
- Indian Rhinoceros
- Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
- Jackrabbit
- Jaguar
- Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
- Killer Whale (Orca)
- King Cobra
- King Vulture
- Kinkajou
- Koala
- Komodo Dragon
- Krill
- Ladybug
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
- Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Leopard
- Leopard Seal
- Leptoceratops Gracilis
- Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
- Lionfish
- Little Red Flying-Fox
- Llama
- Lobster
- Locust
- Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Lynx
- Macaw
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
- Mallard Duck
- Manatee
- Mandrill
- Marine Iguana
- Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
- Meerkat
- Meller's Chameleon
- Mexican Axolotl
- Mola (Sunfish)
- Mole Rat
- Monarch Butterfly
- Mongoose
- Mononykus Olecranus
- Moose
- Mosquito
- Mountain Goat
- Mountain Gorilla
- Mountain Lion
- Mouse Lemur
- Mudpuppy
- Musk-Ox
- Narwhal
- Nile Crocodile
- North American River Otter
- Northern Leopard Frog
- Nudibranch
- Nurse Shark
- Nutria
- Ocelot
- Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- Opossum
- Orangutan
- Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
- Osprey
- Ostrich
- Oyster
- Ozark Big-Eared Bat
- Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
- Parrot
- Parrot Fish
- Peacock
- Pelican
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Platecarpus
- Platypus
- Poison Dart Frog
- Polar Bear
- Porcupine
- Portuguese Man-of-War
- Prairie Dog
- Praying Mantis
- Proboscis Monkey
- Pronghorn
- Protosphyraena
- Protostega Gigas
- Przewalski's Horse
- Pufferfish
- Queen Angelfish
- Quetzal
- Raccoon
- Rainbow Trout
- Raven
- Red Crab
- Red-Eyed Tree Frog
- Red-Footed Booby
- Red Fox
- Red Kangaroo
- Red Leaf Monkey
- Red Panda
- Red-Tailed Hawk
- Red Uakari
- Rhesus Monkey
- Right Whale
- Ringed Seal
- Ring-Necked Pheasant
- Ring-Tailed Lemur
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
- Sailfish
- Saltwater Crocodile
- Sandhill Crane
- Sand Tiger Shark
- Scarab
- Scorpion
- Sea Anemone
- Sea Cucumber
- Seahorse
- Sea Otter
- Siberian Tiger
- Sifaka
- Skunk
- Sloth Bear
- Snow Goose
- Snow Leopard
- Snowshoe Hare
- Snowy Owl
- Sockeye Salmon
- Spectacled Bear
- Sperm Whale
- Spider Monkey
- Spotted Hyena
- Spotted Salamander
- Spring Peeper
- Squirrel
- Starfish (Sea Star)
- Steller Sea Lion
- Steller's Sea Eagle
- Stick Insect
- Stingray
- Styxosaurus Snowii
- Sumatran Rhinoceros
- Sun Bear
- Tapir
- Tarantula
- Tasmanian Devil
- Thescelosaurus Neglectus
- Thick-Billed Murre
- Thomson's Gazelle
- Three-Toed Sloth
- Tiger Salamander
- Tiger Shark
- Toucan
- Triceratops Horridus
- Triggerfish
- Troodon Formosus
- Tundra Swan
- Tusotheuthis Longa
- Two-Toed Sloth
- Tylosaurus Proriger
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Velociraptor Mongoliensis
- Wallaby
- Wallace's Flying Frog
- Walrus
- Warthog
- Warty Newt
- Wasp
- Water Buffalo
- Web-Footed Gecko
- Weddell Seal
- Western Lowland Gorilla
- Whale Shark
- White-Eared Kob
- White Rhinoceros
- White-Tailed Deer
- Whooping Crane
- Wildebeest
- Wild Turkey
- Wolf
- Wolverine
- Wood Stork
- Xiphactinus Audax
- Zebra
Advertisement
The Innovators Project
-
Alan Guth: Waiting for the Big Bang
Three decades ago, the innovative physicist had a eureka moment that explained the universe.
Special Ad Section
From the Magazine
-
Gannets Pictures
Champion divers but clumsy landers, doting parents but hostile neighbors—northern gannets abound in contradictions.
-
Estonia's Ural Owls
Photographer Sven Začek provides an intimate view of this large raptor.