APOPKA, Fla. — Florida Fish and Wildlife officers are searching for a monkey that was spotted several times in Apopka.
A viewer sent Channel 9's Lauren Seabrook photos of the monkey taken over the weekend near Central and Michael Gladden Blvd.
FWC officials said it appears to be a rhesus macaque that likely came from the Silver Springs area.
[ PHOTOS: Monkeys roaming Silver Springs State Park ]
Officials are warning residents not to approach the monkey because it could charge toward people.
9 Investigates reported about a troop of rhesus macaques that had escaped Silver Springs State Park and now live in the area.
Monkeys have been spotted across Central Florida, even as far as the Villages.
Apopka resident Keri Locke said she saw the monkey.
“It was a little too big to be a raccoon, a little too brown, and as we got little closer it kind of turned and looked at us and it was a monkey,” she said.
[ READ: This history of rhesus macaques in Marion County ]
Primate researchers said it’s hard to say why the monkey was spotted in Apopka.
“It could be someone who maybe got kicked out of its group and it might be trying to establish a new group,” said Elena Lamar, deputy director of Animal Operations. “But it’s hard to say because it’s a long way from Ocala to Apopka.”
Lamar says anyone who sees the monkey, should stay away because the animals can be aggressive and can carry diseases like tuberculosis, hepatitis or herpes.