Monkeying Around in Florida

redstate.com

There's a lot of monkey business going on in Florida these days, and not all of it is in the state capital. The town of Silver Springs, Florida, has had a resident population of small simians, Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta), to be precise, for some time. These critters are native to eastern and central Asia, including China and India, and they are quick, adaptable, smart, and fast-breeding. Now, it seems, they have spread to the neighboring town of Mount Dora, where there have been several sightings.

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The primates in Silver Springs arrived there in 1938, when a tour boat operator left several monkeys on an island near the town. He didn't know monkeys could swim, it seems, and the primates quickly escaped the island and set up a breeding population in the town. Since then, they have been driving the locals bananas.

Now, the people of Mount Dora, about 12 miles away, are seeing them. The town has issued a warning: Don't approach them.

The City of Mount Dora posted a warning to residents on social media Monday.
"We have received reports of monkey sightings within the city. While seeing a monkey may be unusual, please remember they are wild, feral animals and should be admired from a safe distance," the post said.

Florida is friendly ground for these animals, with nothing much in the way of winter and plenty of shrubs, trees, and various fruits and nuts to eat, along with other edibles; one might say, almost anything will serve as an ape-itizer. They do seem to be fond of lemonkeys and ape-ricots.

Also, primates in general are quick to adapt to new habitats. They are inquisitive, curious, quick, and intelligent. And unlike larger primates (us), they breed pretty quickly.

They can also be nasty-tempered beasts, and they have large, stabbing canines, especially the males. Rhesus macaques tend to travel about in large matrilineal troops of from 20 to 200. In summary, they can eat almost anything, live almost anywhere, and they are too smart and quick to be easily removed. Smart money says these critters are in Florida to stay, and they will only continue to expand their range.

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Invasive species are almost always troublesome. Florida has its share, from Burmese pythons to, well, monkeys. Humans are often, but not always, the culprits in spreading these critters around. It's not the smartest thing we humans have ever done, but it sure seems to be one of the most inevitable.

Some years back, if memory serves, there were rumors of a small population of chimpanzees that had escaped into a wild area in Florida. These animals could be among the most troublesome of invasive species, were that to be true; chimps are even more intelligent and adaptable than monkeys. One might say that, among invasive species, they are the chimp-ions. We shouldn't underestimate their c-ape-abilities. In fact, as intelligent as chimps are, it wouldn't be too surprising to even take to the air, should they learn to build something like, say, a hot air baboon.

I'll show myself out.

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