Many Floridians who live in the Clermont and Groveland areas say they continue to see monkeys roaming their neighborhoods.
Clermont resident Emme Krug told Fox 35 she found one of the animals on the roof of her Minnehaha Street home on Tuesday and was shocked to see it. report Thursday:
Possible wild monkeys walking near Florida https://t.co/yenznMSAVn
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) May 2, 2024
“This monkey ran across the road and I had to look twice because I didn’t think it was really a monkey,” she said, adding that she had lived in India for several years and was not afraid of monkeys. said.
video footage show The monkey was casually walking on the roof of the yellow house.
The monkey seen on the roof appears to be the same monkey seen by Groveland residents on Friday.The animal was described by primate experts as a rhesus macaque.
The rhesus monkey introduced According to the University of Florida’s IFAS Extension, it invaded the Silver Springs State Park area in the 1930s.
It was long believed that the monkeys were released during the production of the 1939 film; tarzan finds his sonthe animals were reportedly there even before then.
Silver Springs became a tourist attraction in the 1870s. Because of the clear water produced by natural springs, glass-bottom boat tours began soon after tourists began visiting the area. In the 1930s, the glass-bottom boat operator, Colonel Toohey, is reported to have released about six rhesus macaques in hopes of attracting tourists and increasing revenue for boat tours. Colonel Toohey released the macaques on an island in the Silver River, not knowing that rhesus macaques were good swimmers. The monkeys soon swam to the surrounding forest, where their numbers began to increase. Boat operators used bait to lure macaques to shore to entertain tour guests. To increase the population, Colonel Toohey also purchased six macaques and released them on the north bank of the river around 1948.
More video footage show A monkey runs on the sidewalk behind a high school in Groveland. A man who spoke to Fox 35 said he was picking up his daughter from school when he saw what he first thought was a cat.
“And when I got closer, it was a monkey,” he said.
Clermont law enforcement confirmed they received two reports of seeing monkeys from witnesses on Sunday and Tuesday. Police also warned residents to keep their distance as the animals are wild.
Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the sighting. write“I’ve lived here all my life, but I never knew. This is a banana.”
someone else called They are “python food”.
In 2022, a man from Ocala, Florida, recorded Fox 35 reported at the time that the monkey jumped into the water at Silver Spring State Park.
Matt Schwanke said, “It sounded like there was a war going on up there. Just crazy booing and yelling and branches shrieking. That was the most I’ve ever heard. It was crazy.”
