Pithecia monachus, is a species endemic to Brazil and Peru. Saki monkeys travel in pairs of a male and a female. These species of monkey live in the understory and lower canopy of the forest, feeding mostly on fruits, nuts, seeds, and insects. They are arboreal creatures and are specialists in swinging from tree to tree. White-faced sakis typically live around 14 years in their natural habitat and have been recorded to live up to 36 years in captivity. Sakis are active in the day and sleep highly elevated (15-20m) in trees with many leaves to shelter them from weather and flying predators.

Luna
She is a female who arrived in October 2018, approximately 2 years old. Before being rescued, she was a pet in a home.
Luna is a sensitive animal and can easily get sick if hygiene and biological safety rules are not followed. Luna has developed a hatred for women, when a female staff member is here for a long time the situation improves. Despite this, she is a calm monkey with men.

It is easy to understand when she is upset or stressed as she tries to break through the mesh and pull the gates. Another common behavior in her is sticking out her tongue.

Luna is fussy, prefers seeds and insects, but never eats her food if it touches the ground or has mud on it. She does not eat the dog chow, she prefers fruit if it’s a little green instead of ripe, she doesn’t like chicken. She loves seeds. She has a balanced diet based on dry fruits and a series of supplements to ensure good digestion. Her favourite foods are pistachios and almonds.

Georgie

He arrived on the 21st of February 2024, at 390g, estimated at 2 months old. He was donated by a family that had owned him for a month who said they had saved him from Belen market where they saw his mother killed. He then got attacked by a dog, and they didn’t know how to care for him. He was unconscious until he arrived and made a quick recovery with no neurological damage. He is now thriving, putting on weight. 
We’re now sure Georgie is an equatorial saki (Pithecia aequatorialis), this means unfortunately he could not be put into a release program with Gina or Luna as they’re monk sakis.

Gina
She is a female saki, arrived on the 11th of March, 520g, estimated 3 – 4 months old. She was confiscated by the government, after a women reported finding her on the street. She is a lot less dependent on people compared to Georgie.  Georgie and Gina are now a bonded pair growing up together.