SILVER SPRINGS, Fla. — In the 1930s a boat captain along the Silver River had an idea for an attraction, monkeys.
Colonel Tooey brought a troop of rhesus macaques to the area and placed them on an island at Silver Springs State Park.
What Tooey didn’t know was that rhesus macaques are strong swimmers and within days they escaped. Now, more than eight decades later, the population of rhesus macaques in the Silver Springs area is estimated to bet between 150 and 400.
Last year, one of the monkeys was spotted on top of a roof at a school in the Villages, more than 20 miles away from Silver Springs.
Research into the monkeys by the University of Florida was cut short after researchers received threats from animal rights activists.
The university, which published a fact sheet on the monkeys found that, “Rhesus Macaques introduced into other parts of the United States have caused environmental and economic damage. A population of over 3,000 free‐ranging rhesus macaques is maintained on Morgan Island, South Carolina, for biomedical research. Tidal creeks surrounding this island have been found to have elevated levels of E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria due to the monkeys.”
Considered a non-native species, the monkeys are a tourist attraction up and down the river. Boaters and kayakers often stop along the riverbanks to snap photos of the troops of monkeys.
While not aggressive, the monkeys are territorial and have been known to jump onto boats to rummage for food.
Researchers have expressed concern about the monkey’s diet in the springs. UF researchers documented the monkeys eating 50 species of plants as well as bird eggs; although the monkeys are not considered an invasive species since their impact on the environment, at present, appears to minimal.