Monkey business in East County

This is the true story of four strangers picked to live in a mansion and have their lives watched. Find out what happens when monkeys stop being polite and start getting real.

Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary's newest animal housing quarters isn't "The Real World," but the residents of Marmoset Mansion don't lack the drama of the MTV reality show series. 

The stainless steel mansion celebrated its grand opening recently. It’s now the home of four primates: three marmosets, Oliver, Pharaoh and Marley, and a squirrel monkey named Little Man.

Since the mansion opened a few weeks ago, the foursome is more peaceful, said Clayton Rosaire, an animal trainer at the East County facility. The monkeys play in their own areas, while occassionally interacting with the constant stream of paparazzi who photograph or take video of them from their front lawn.

But, because the male monkeys pick fights with each other, by slapping or flicking each other, or making screaming noises, walls separate them from each other inside the mansion.

Although marmosets are known for being friendly, males are aggressive toward each other, particularly over food and mates, according to the National Primate Research Center. Unless male monkeys grow up together, they shouldn’t be kept in the same living quarters without boundaries, said Rosaire.

“People might think because they are the same type of animal, that they can just be thrown into a house together and everything will be fine,” Rosaire said. “This group won't be staying up late playing card games. They need their privacy and separate spaces.”

A love triangle also helped foster the tense atmosphere inside the full house.

Marley, the only female in the group, is outgoing and sought love when a local resident surrendered her to Big Cat Habitat recently. Rosaire moved her into the mansion with Oliver and Pharaoh to gauge whether she would spark a relationship with a male suitor.

Pharaoh's flips around his cage and desire to be physically close to her won over Marley. Oliver, who also flips around his cage and enjoys being playful, just didn’t catch her attention.

“They both tried, they showed her their tricks,” Rosaire added. “But there was something about Pharaoh that she liked.”

Oliver is still an eligible bachelor who Rosaire jokes isn't taking down his Match.com profile, yet.

The monkeys are developing a social hierarchy similar to those that live in the wild. The highest-ranking male and female in the group eventually mate.

Oliver has been spending more time alone in his private estate, probably because he’s jealous, Rosaire said. And, because the couple sleeps in the next bedroom, he isn’t able to get much distance from the lovebirds.

Marley and Pharaoh live together in one of three bedrooms in the mansion. Oliver and Little Man each have their own rooms, and prefer to live a wild life, Rosaire added.

"There’s the couple and the two single men who like to stay up late and party," Rosaire said. “The boys are loud and make noise when they want.”

Rosaire and his mother, Kay, who is also the founder of Big Cat Habitat, wanted to build the mansion for years, but didn’t have the funding.

Siesta Key residents Russ and Sharon Stephens helped fund the project. Sharon Stephens, a donor of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, held a birthday party a few weeks ago at the exotic animal haven, and in lieu of gifts, she asked for donations to build the mansion.

She and her party guests collected the $7,000 needed to construct the facility, which only took a few weeks to build.

Stephens has also donated $13,000 to build an aviary and underwrite the cost of labor to finish the goat house and improve landscaping at Big Cat Habitat.

Prior to building the mansion, the marmosets and Little Man lived in separate bird cages. 

"They went from a single-bed, one-room apartment to a seven-bedroom, four-bath on Siesta Key," Rosaire said.

Inside the mansion

The structure stands more than 8 feet tall.

Each bedroom, or section, of the mansion features a 3-by-2-foot wooden house — a glamorous birdhouse, Rosaire said. The houses have ventilation tubes installed to filter in air conditioning and heat.

The houseguests demand the temperature stay at 65 to 70 degrees year round.

"Having temperatures that are extremely different than the outside temperature can shock the monkey," Rosaire said. "They don't like that drastic difference."

Each marmoset also has a swing made from a coconut, a tire swing and a vanity area, in which he or she can look in the mirror.

Marley particularly enjoys the mirror and her neighbors might think she's vain because of the amount of time she spends checking herself out.

Although the marmosets will never monkey around together, the group is enjoying its new home.

Rosaire has noticed the monkeys interacting more with human visitors. The animal trainer hopes the facility will help visitors develop a greater appreciation and urge to learn more about the animals.

"These animals are ones people don't usually see unless they're on vacation," Rosaire said. "Interaction should start at an early age. Children see these fuzzy little monkeys that look like those they watched on the movie, 'Rio,' and they're hooked. We want them to develop an understanding for the animals around them."

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].