Monkey troupe causes parts of Florida park to be closed
Researchers believe up to 200 macaques live in park, unknown number outside
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.— There’s an upswing in monkey business in and around a state park in Florida, where bands of non-native rhesus macaques live along a river that’s popular with kayakers and tourists.
Officials have closed two walking areas at Silver Springs State Park because of unwanted monkey interactions with park guests. An observation deck and a boardwalk are offlimits because the primates have essentially taken over.
Researchers estimate anywhere from 150 to 200 wild rhesus macaques live at the park and an unknown number live outside. Park rangers try to warn visitors not to feed the 20-pound, two-foot-tall mammals and are stepping up patrols in sections where there are high possibilities of interaction.
The monkeys were introduced to the area in the 1930s by a tour boat operator named Colonel Tooey. He thought it would be a good idea to release six macaques on a small island in the Silver River and call it Monkey Island to draw tourists.
“He thought they would stay on Monkey Island,” said Eben Kirksey, a Florida native and a professor of environmental humanities at UNSW Sydney in Australia. “But they are good swimmers.”
In the 1980s, there were 400 of the animals in the park, prompting state officials to try to wrest control of the situation. Some of the females were sterilized. Previous attempts to cull the group drew strong opposition from locals.
Recently, a homeowner six kilometres away captured photos of some 50 monkeys swarming his deer feeder. Brian Pritchard’s automatic camera, anchored to a tree, was even inspected by one monkey, whose face practically fills a frame as others cavort in the background.
“Anybody who lives on our river, they always have the possibility of seeing the monkeys,” said Pritchard, 33. “As long as you don’t bother them, they don’t bother you.”