Primates past their prime

by Phil Parker

Daily Lobo

Every morning Telle takes ibuprofen for his arthritis.

Then he might go for a swim in his hot tub.

Telle is one of the monkeys who live on top of Logan Hall.

Professor John Gluck brought the monkeys to UNM in the early 1970s so he could study different aspects of their behavior.

It's not a bad life for four old primates - all between 25 and 30 years old - who spent their early years as the subjects of numerous social experiments.

Stump-tailed monkeys are incredibly smart animals, capable of solving memory puzzles or dismantling equipment, Gluck said.

Telle is the lone male of the four stump-tailed monkeys living on the roof of UNM's Logan Hall.

Still relatively active for his age, Telle's pruned red face looks tired, and he's missing clumps of hair in spots. He walks slowly, and his eyes don't exactly dart in all directions.

Lala, Donna and Milly also while away their days in the fenced-in holding area, where they can jump around suspended platforms or climb in and out of massive plastic tubes.

They can spin a little puzzle tube to get their favorite treats, and if it's time to eat or raining outside, they head through a doggy door to an air-conditioned indoor area.

There's even a big tub of water if they feel like taking a dip in a "monkey Jacuzzi."

Gluck said they're relatively peaceful compared to other primates.

"One of the things we studied was the way they settled disagreements," Gluck said. "That was one of our central questions, because they were known to not be as aggressive to one another as related species, and we were looking at how they managed to keep hostilities to a very low level."

Gluck said the monkeys would be separated from each other during some experiments, which stressed and upset them. When he and his colleagues decided they had enough information, they stopped those studies.

Now their behavior is researched on rare occasions from outside of the fence in what Gluck calls "noninterventive observation."

Those who get to see Logan Hall's monkey house are members of a fairly exclusive club. Only four people have regular access to the monkeys: Gluck, two caretakers and their veterinarian, who constantly checks on them.

But monkeys living in captivity somewhere on campus has been sort of a rumor or urban legend at UNM.

"I've heard that," said Sara Kilgore, a sophomore. "I heard they were in the biology building, and they do experiments or something on them. Some bio student told me that."

Gluck said there's a very real danger of infection for those who come in contact with them.

"The four monkeys that are left have evidence of infection of herpes B," Gluck said. "It's a biohazard."

They've all had the virus at some point in their lives, but Gluck isn't worried about infection. He's been scratched and urinated on. He's even had feces thrown at him.

Gluck and the caretakers are convinced they're safe, but visitors and observers who head up to the roof wear biohazard suits that cover their feet, torso, hands and face.

Student Ian Stuart said the monkeys shouldn't be kept on the building.

"If they're not using them, they should be in a zoo," he said.

Seclusion is important for the monkeys as they idle in the sun or sift through bales of hay. They've been through enough experimenting at this late point in their lives.

For the last 15 years they've been basking in a stress-free lifestyle, and that's likely how these peaceful primates' lives at UNM will end.