The critically endangered black bearded saki is endemic to a small region of the far eastern Amazon rainforests in Brazil, primarily in the Maranhão Babaçu Forests ecoregion. The black bearded saki is known for using its hands for scooping up drinking water, a method that is believed to help with pruning their large beards. At certain times of the year 90% of this primate species’ diet consists of immature seeds.
The black bearded saki has reportedly coped with fragmentation of its habitat by consuming more flowers and non-reproductive plant parts, ingeniously allowing the plants to recover and not depleting their scarce resources. Unfortunately, their population is still decreasing and more intensive conservation actions are needed.
The Maranhão Babaçu Forests are located in eastern Brazil at the very eastern and southern flank of the Amazon Basin. This region comprises a transition zone between the moist evergreen forests of the Amazon Basin and the drier woodlands and scrub savannas of Brazil’s central plateau. The terrain is flat to gently rolling and is dissected by many rivers that drain into the Atlantic Ocean. Elevations inland reach 150 m and drop toward the coast. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,000–1,500 mm, mostly falling during a 6-month period every year; then the region goes through 5–6 months of drought. Annual temperature ranges from 25°–28°C. The bottomland soils are rich from river deposits of different materials.
The most striking features of the region are the extensive high-density stands of the economically important oil palm babassu. While the palm is native to the ecoregion, human activities in primary forests including burning and deforestation, from which this species is adapted to recover quickly, have assisted its spread to become the predominant vegetation. Abundant trees of primary forest include yellow mombin, membrillo, suradan, and Protium heptaphyllum (used for incense).
This ecoregion originally supported a collection of rare endemic birds, fishes, and insects. Habitat degradatio