There are two Patas monkeys at Jungle Larry’s. They are both female and are not sterilized. One was born on April 7, 1987 and the other was born on March 11, 1987. And they were both transferred here from Cheyenne Mt Zoo in Colorado. Their diet consists of grass, fruit seeds, and occasional insects and even lizards. The males weigh up to 13 kg and females weigh up to 7 kg. Other differences between males and females are that the males have longer hairs around the shoulders, creating a slight main appearance and a light colored mustache. In groups of Patas there are usually one male, even though the groups are led by the females.(Strum, 11) The males role is to look out for possible predators. If the male is not protecting the females and the offspring well, the females will gang together and attack the male forcing him to leave the group. (www.caribbeangardens.com). Patas gestation period is five and a half months, which is followed by one birth. Patas monkeys are ground dweller. They communicate by gestures and mimery. There are a variety of behaviors that can be noticed by facial expressions. For example, a horizontal pout face can be a sign of distress, a yawn to expose their canine teeth can be a threat gesture. Patas monkeys especially, use bobbing back and forth in a crouched position as a threatening gesture.(Jurmain, 184) Submission can be shown by a crouched position or by presenting hindquarters. Patting or touching can show reassurance. Patas live in grassy savanna’s, they avoid dense forest but will use trees for shade during the heat of the day.(www.caribbeangardens.com) Social grouping of Patas usually range from about 9 to 30 individuals with as large as 200 reported. (www.caribbeangardens.com)

The Patas monkeys are the fastest primates on the planet. One was recored at 33 MPH in three seconds.(www.caribbeangardens.com) They walk on there fingers, not on the flat of their hands.(Rowe, 149) They are tall, slender, shy and exclusive. They rarely ever mix with other species.

Since Patas monkeys live in the savanna they need lots of floor space in captivity. But other things that are important are things for them to climb, hide and play on. Privacy is also very important to these monkeys, because it is their natural tendency to hide when frightened. (www.monkeymaddness.com) Some things that may be used for hiding and playing are large pipes, sleeping boxes, and cinder blocks. Also for monkey’s cage need to vertically generous since they usually head up into branches for safety.(Benyus,338) Also in the cages they have sement bottoms which help keep the monkeys cool. At Jungle Larry’s many of the monkeys are on little islands that have surrounding of which they would have in the wild. Because of the reason they do not go in water they stay on the islands. Most people believe that captive animals are longing to be released into the wild, to roam free. The truth is that in the wild if there was everything they needed with in a few hundred feet they would stay there. Since an animal’s basic needs are met at the zoo, a well designed exhibit need not be vast to be home.(Benyus,338) Being in a zoo also helps animals that are endangered of becoming extinct. Some researchers give monkey’s activities that make them hunt threw grass for there food, and monkeys would rather work for their food than to have it laying next to them.

Jungle Larry’s Caribbean Gardens. 22 November 1998.

Monkey Maddness. 24 November 1998.