Silence appears to be golden for patas monkeys
They’re not known for making a racket
Editor’s note: During her long tenure as The Milwaukee Journal Green Sheet’s “Zooperstars!” columnist, Alicia Armstrong always kept an eye out for the unusual: shy gorillas, pickpocket birds, etc. If you’ve ever been to the Primate House at the Milwaukee County Zoo, there’s something you don’t hear everyday: monkeys being quiet. In this column, published 39 years ago on April 13, 1978, she found a family of them — a patas monkey clan with roots in western and central Africa. (The zoo’s current animal roster doesn’t list a patas monkey).
In telling their story, Armstrong name-checks a Milwaukee legend: Eddie Doucette, the announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks during the team’s first 16 seasons and a master at giving players offbeat nicknames. (The player Armstrong mentions, John Gianelli, was a backup center with the Bucks at the time.)
Eddie Doucette, the Milwaukee Bucks’ announcer, calls center John Gianelli “Tall Silence” because he’s tall and he doesn’t say much.
There’s a new Milwaukeean you can call “Small Silence,” because he’s small and, as far as I know, he has never said anything at all.
Small Silence is a patas monkey at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Because he was born only two months ago, he knows little, so it’s best that he not humiliate himself by chattering away on subjects about which he knows nothing.
However, even if he were older and better informed, the newcomer undoubtedly would have little to say, because he comes from a strangely (and pleasantly) quiet family. Even when patas monkeys break their usual silence, it’s not easy to hear them.
When some groups of monkeys and apes whoop it up, they can be heard for miles. They’re louder than a hiccup at a concert. But a patas monkey racket can be heard for only about 100 yards — a mere whisper in simian society.
This curious reticence explains the economy-size ears on Small Silence. He obviously must have big ears to catch little sounds.
Sam La Malfa, supervisor in the zoo’s Monkey House, said that when the patas were temporarily separated for any reason, they made soft cooing sounds.
La Malfa explained: “It’s a sort of questioning sound, something like, ‘ohhhhh’? It’s as if they’re asking, ‘When are you coming back? I miss you. Are you coming back?’ ”
The discreet La Malfa neglected to mention that when a female patas monkey is in an amorous mood, she makes a wheezing, chortling sound. Her interesting comments can be heard for only about 6 yards, which is just as well.
The infant’s parent, Prolific Silence, is, as you can see, an expert at the mother business. And she should be: Small Silence is her 14th offspring.
This does not mean, however, that the zoo has a troop of 16 or so patas monkeys. Most of the youngsters moved to other zoos, and now the Milwaukee contingent consists of Mother Silence, Father Silence and their five resident quints, including the baby.
The newest arrival was, in fact, born Feb. 12.
Patas monkeys, which live on the ground, are found in open country in central and western Africa. At the zoo, they are found in the Monkey House, of course.
About this feature
Each Thursday, the Green Sheet brings back some of the stories and features that gave the old Green Sheet its distinct identity, including Alicia Armstrong’s “Zooperstars!” column about the doings at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Look for them in print and online at jsonline.com/greensheet.