Mr. Tomato Face

Dear Moonstruck,

Tonight I will talk about the Red Uakari. Wait...  What is that?  Some exotic food?  A new Japanese electronic device? or some funny-taste candy?  Well, none of them.  The Red Uakari is actually an incredible Amazon rainforest monkey.

Despite the fact that monkeys are adorable and have cute looks, this new creepy creature has quite amazing features. What do you think?  Want to hear some interesting facts about this bizarre red faced guy?

The Red Uakari  with his spectacular red face and his bald head is among the weirdest animals on earth.

The Red Uakari is found in the Amazon region of the world. Brazil, Peru and Colombia are its native countries. Within the amazon jungle he prefers the spots where water is abundant, that means he loves the river basins. Because of the big floods and heavy rainfall, they move mainly in the forest canopy. Now picture yourself over the top of the highest amazon trees, having the best view ever. The best part: they don´t pay for this five star hotel. What a good life huh?

The Red Uakaris are adapted to the life over the jungle canopy. Their hair coat varies from red to white.

Now lets talk about their awesome physical aspect, but first of all, remember our creepy friend the Coconut Crab from the last post? (if you don´t, go back to the post call Crabzilla and read it!) Well, the Uakaris are approximately the same size, attaining a length of about 45cm, weighing 3kg and living up to 30 years.

Another funny trait is their tail. In spite of having a tiny stump, no one cut their tails! It´s just that unlike other American monkeys, this fellow has an extremely small tail because it provides him with a good balance when moving among the big trees. This jungle Tarzan is capable of jumping over 10 meters from tree to tree and moving up to 5 km per day. They prefer to travel along in groups known as troops, sometimes gathering up to 100 individuals, what a fun party!

As a good vegan, he eats mainly seeds. Occasionally he also feeds on fruits, flowers and small animals. Due to his eating habits, he owns a big pair of powerful jaws. Pay attention, a little bite from this guy and you´ll get a free ticket to the nearest hospital.

Now lets talk about their main attribute, Whuhu! Time to talk about what seems to be a creepy red mask covering them. Despite the fact that he is covered with hair almost fully, his head is completely hairless. This bald creepy look seems to be a fashion-top trait among the Red Uakaris.  Moreover he will certainly be the envy of many, as he has no fat on his cheeks neither dewlap.

Question time: Why do you think they have this red face stunning feature?

First of all the answer is no! Despite what you think, he was not brutally burned by the sun. This characteristic red shrimp color is due to the lack of skin pigment and the abundance of blood capillaries around it, what we can literally call a "bloody monkey face". Nevertheless the main cause for this bizarre look is the female sexual selection.

Female sexual selection is the preferential choice of females over certain traits in the males. Why would the females possibly prefer this red weird look over the cute lovely hairy look that other primates have on their faces?

The Red Uakaris Sex Symbol, with his red bright face and his good shaved head he is "The Big Daddy" among this monkey species.

Well, sexual selection has enhanced the red face trait because the redder and the brighter is the face of a male, the strongest, healthiest and handsome he is to the females. Due to their range habitat, these funny primates are prone to contract malaria quite easily, this condition makes them pale, loosing their bright tomato color and thus becoming less attractive to the females. The natural immunity to malaria is strongly linked to the red bright color of the male faces. Trait selected by the females throughout evolution.

Thanks to a specialized gland located near the olfactory system, the females secrete an attracting love scent to call the attention of  a suitable monkey prince. Six months after mom found daddy, a healthy red face monkey baby will be born.

I am afraid this creepy creature will become a legend. Due to the intensive hunting for ilegal pet trade and habitat loss, this marvelous animal is under the threatened category. However you should still be frightened of coming across him because after conservation efforts, their populations have increased over this past few years.


 When they live in captivity their Tomato face looses its brightness and becomes a pale sad pink face.