Officials seek to curb wild monkeys in Fla.
Primates spreading into neighborhoods
It’s not quite Planet of ORLANDO the Apes.
But bands of feral rhesus macaque monkeys are roaming Central Florida, scaring families with their aggressive behavior, making homes in backyards and puzzling wildlife officials who struggle to curb their growing numbers.
The latest monkey-to-people encounter occurred last month, when several of the monkeys charged a family vacationing in Silver Springs State Park, about 75 miles northwest of Orlando. A cellphone video of the monkey business, captured by a family member, is spreading through various social media sites.
Last week, officials at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission formed a working group to gather more information on the monkeys and brainstorm what to do with the roaming primates, which came to Florida more than 80 years ago as a tourist attraction.
“We want to know how many there are, how many troops, where they’re gravitating to and what can we do about them,” commission spokesman Greg Workman said.
Native throughout Asia, the six rhesus macaque monkeys were brought into Silver Springs State Park — then privately owned — in the mid-1930s as a way to draw tourists. An additional six monkeys were introduced around 1948, according to a recent study by the University of Florida.
The rhesus macaques were put on an island in the Silver River but quickly swam to the surrounding forests, spreading into neighborhoods, said UF wildlife biologist Steve Johnson, one of the authors of the study. Now scientists estimate there are 200 primates in Silver Springs State Park alone. An additional 72 have been sighted around Central Florida and the Panhandle.
“They’re a very adaptable species,” Johnson said. “It’s no surprise they’ve succeeded in spreading as much as they have.”