Primates in Peril

Ka’apor Capuchin
Cebus kaapori Queiroz, 1992
Brazil
(2012, 2014)
Marcos de Souza Fialho, Leandro Jerusalinsky, Maurício Talebi & Fabiano R. Melo
Ka’apor capuchin (Cebus kaapori)
(Illustration: Stephen D. Nash)
The Ka’apor capuchin (Cebus kaapori), first described
just over 20 years ago, is found in the eastern edge of
the Brazilian Amazon, in the north-eastern part of
the state of Pará and north-western part of the state
of Maranhão (Queiroz 1992). Its range extends from
the east of the lower Rio Tocantins to the Rio Grajaú
where it enters the Zona dos Cocais (Queiroz 1992;
Ferrari and Queiroz 1994; Ferrari and Souza 1994; Silva
and Cerqueira 1998; Carvalho et al. 1999; Cunha et al.
2007). It has been observed only in tall lowland terra
firma forest, generally below 300 m above sea level, and
has not been recorded in seasonally inundated forest or
secondary forest (Rylands and Mittermeier 2013). The
birth season is from June to July. Besides surveys and
abundance studies, recent research provided additional
ecological information about the species (Oliveira et al.
2014). This capuchin is generally seen in small groups
of up to ten individuals, sometimes accompanying the
also Critically Endangered bearded sakis (Chiropotes
satanas) (Ferrari and Lopes 1996; Carvalho et al. 1999).
The known range of C. kaapori is suspected to include
an area of around 15,000 km² in the most densely
populated region (Carvalho et al. 1999), with the
highest level of deforestation and habitat degradation,
in the entire Brazilian Amazon. More than 70% of the
forest has been destroyed in the process of converting
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land to farmland and pasture (Carvalho et al. 1999;
Almeida and Vieira, 2010). Deforestation continues, and
most of the remaining forests now comprise isolated,
usually hunted and degraded, patches of farmland.
Cebus kaapori occurs in only two protected areas: the
Gurupi Biological Reserve and the Lago de Tucuruí
Environmental Protection Area. A large part of the forest
of the Gurupí Biological Reserve has been logged and
destroyed since its creation in 1988, and other pressures
such as wildlife traffic and drugs plantations affect this
reserve. Ferrari and Lopes (1996) estimated a density
of 0.98 individuals/km² in this reserve. Another survey
revealed a relative abundance of 0.99 groups/10 km in
the Fazenda Cauaxi in the Paragominas (Carvalho et al.
1999). Lopes (1993) saw three groups in 480 km in the
Gurupí Biological Reserve which means 0.06 groups/10
km. Recently, Buss et al. (2014) found 0.25 groups/10
km at the same Gurupí Biological Reserve.
Campos (2009), using Population Viability Analysis
by Vortex software, has mentioned that only three
populations can be considered viable in the long term
(next 100 years). These populations are found in Caru,
Awá, Alto Turiaçu, Araraibóia Indigenous Areas in
Maranhão State, and Alto Rio Guama Indigenous Area
in Pará State, beside Gurupí Biological Reserve.