Babookari

The Babookari is a pitheciine pitheciid that inhabits the grasslands of Gondwana. Even though they seem and look like Old World Monkeys like baboons, they are actually New World Monkeys and are closely related to the Uakari on Earth.

Out on the grassy expanse, babookaris will move in a group about 30 strong, with their long tails sticking up. Occasionally, one stops and raises its head above the tops of the grass stems. The face is almost humanlike, and is round with red naked skin, framed in a lion-like mane. Like all primates, the hands of a babookaris are prehensile, that is, they are adapted for grasping or gripping. However, they are more often used for walking than for swinging through trees. The Babookari also has a long tail, but this is not like a muscular, extra limb used for swinging about in trees. Instead it is a tall, inflexible rod with a tuft of hair at the end. Longer than the deep grass, this tail is used for signaling across the plains. Being a social animal, the babookari needs signaling devices such as its long tail, colored chest, colored bottom and colored face. The only way a monkey can live on the open grassland is as part of a troop. A large group of 30 or so individuals can quickly scour a wide area of savannah for food and can cooperate in defense against certain predators. This monkey also has gained a great deal of intelligence. It has retained enough dexterity in its hands to be able to weave complex structures from grass stems, and has the knowledge to put these structures to work. one of the structures it builds is a fish trap, a hollow spherical basket which a babookari deploys in the shallow seasonal rivers that wind their way across the plain. Fish is an excellent protein supplement for these omnivorous primates. When on fishing trips, the troop stays together. Some individuals work the traps, while the others are on the lookout for danger. The older individuals are the more skillful at making the baskets. The younger individuals watch them and learn how it is done. However though, predators like Gondwana Carakillers and Raboons will attempt to chase down Babookaris, so they have to keep an eye out.