Gray's Bald-faced Saki

Fascinating facts about the Gray's Bald-faced Saki

• Despite the vaccine's active ingredients, none of the 24 primates, including the gray monk saki, showed any noticeable illness after injection. The absence of fever, rash, or behavioral changes proves the 17DD strain is safe for these New World monkeys, a crucial point for zoo health programs that must protect both animals and staff from vaccine-related side effects.
• The gray monk saki's inclusion in the zoo-wide Leishmania survey shows it lives in an urban environment where sand-fly vectors thrive. Even though the study did not detect Leishmania DNA in this species, its presence among sampled primates highlights the potential for spill-over infections and the need for regular parasite screening in city zoos.
• When a single subcutaneous dose of the 17DD yellow-fever vaccine was given to 24 neotropical primates, the gray monk saki showed a brief antibody rise that vanished quickly, unlike the lasting immunity seen in several other species.
• At the Belo Horizonte Zoo, researchers sampled 31 skin biopsies and 40 blood draws from a total of 13 captive mammal species, of which 11 were primates. The gray monk saki was one of those eleven.
• Because the gray monk saki did not maintain long-term antibodies after yellow-fever vaccination,

At a glance

About the Gray's Bald-faced Saki

In the lush canopy of the Amazonian rainforest, the Gray's Bald-faced Saki navigates with effortless agility, its slender frame and prehensile tail allowing it to leap and swing through the dense foliage with a fluid, almost ethereal, motion. As it moves, the saki's piercing gaze scans the surroundings, its large, expressive eyes drinking in every detail of its domain, from the intricate patterns of light and shadow to the vibrant plumage of its fellow forest dwellers. With its distinctive bald face and shaggy coat, this remarkable primate exudes a quiet confidence, as if it has long been the master of its verdant realm.

More mammals to discover

Browse Feravox