Monkeys Like Florida

[Ed in Houston]

 

Asian Rhesus Macaque monkeys have made their home is Silver Springs Park just east of Ocala Florida. There are over 100 that have established themselves in that area.

I bet S. Louisiana and S.Texas has some good ecosystems also for these monkeys. They might be difficult to get established in Texas since they would make good BBQ and chili. On second thought, I wonder how Louisiana monkey gumbo tastes?

Florida monkeys

Ed in Houston

 

 

 

 

[RedRabbit]

There used to be some on this island in the Keys, but the authorities eventually had them "removed". :(

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Our Eco systems in the us look nothing like 500 years ago.

not sure why Eco nut scientists want to murder introduced species. I guess it makes em feel better, but they aren't really helping do anything except playing God and try to stage a fake ecosystem .

 

happened big time on Santa Rosa island here in ca ( or was it Santa Cruz island) 

hundreds of elk were gunned down by Sierra club executioners just because they didn't look like the extinct animals that were there in ancient times.

 

[bubba]

I know about these monkeys.  A  roommate and fraternity brother of mine at UF was from Ocala. He was close to the family that owned the tourist destination, Silver Springs, and  surrounding land. He later became a State Representative, whose District included Silver Springs.

Similar to the experience of Jeff, an ecological group  decided that the monkeys around  Silver Springs  should be euthanized .  This was not happily accepted by the locals, who had become  familiar and fond of this band of roaming wild monkeys.  Although several Tarzan movies were filmed in this area in the late 1930's, the monkeys were introduced by a tourist boat operator, who let them go on an island downstream from the Springs around the same time as the Tarzan movies. The son of the original owner of the Springs actually watched the  monkeys being dropped off and said they spent no more then five minutes on the island before taking off. 

Anyway, it hit the fan high and hard when the ecologists sold the "euthanization of the monkeys" to what became the Florida wildlife commission.  My buddy lead a very popular campaign in the late 1980s to fight the State  mandated murder of the monkeys.  The State backed down.

 I am not certain that I agree with the figure of 109 monkeys observed in the study. They have been seen  from Jacksonville to Sarasota and numerous spots in between.  They  are not aggressive towards humans but you would be crazy to underestimate their strength.  They weigh up to 60 pounds and many have herpes. They get hit by cars from time to time but they appear to be happily breeding and enjoying life without causing any major issues. Live and let live!

 

[Silas_Sancona]

On 2/20/2016, 7:48:31, JEFF IN MODESTO said:

Our Eco systems in the us look nothing like 500 years ago.

not sure why Eco nut scientists want to murder introduced species. I guess it makes em feel better, but they aren't really helping do anything except playing God and try to stage a fake ecosystem .

 

happened big time on Santa Rosa island here in ca ( or was it Santa Cruz island) 

hundreds of elk were gunned down by Sierra club executioners just because they didn't look like the extinct animals that were there in ancient times.

 

You make a great point Jeff..

Was watching video of a lone male Jaguar ( El Jefe) roaming the Santa Rita Mountains which lie roughly 25 miles outside Tucson. While i couldn't see when the video was originally  recorded,  Believe it represents the first real footage of this animal exploring a sliver of what was it's historic range. Reading on, it is incredible to think that these Cats may have roamed as far north as Monterey, and as far east as the mountains of Georgia.

Many people see today's landscapes and think the plants/animals are as they have always been.. forgetting that nature is always changing. Animals and plants move north or south depending on changes in the climate. While i'm sure there are people who freak at the idea of Jaguars, ocelot, or the Mexican Wolf returning to their former homes among the sky Islands, and/or beyond, I can't imagine how awesome an experience it would be to catch sight of any one of these animals taking a stroll through my camp site. 

As far as the monkeys are concerned, live and let live.. heck, Monkeys rafted to South America.. from Africa. It would only be a matter of time before some species from Southern Mexico, or Central America found itself coming ashore somewhere in the Everglades. Such is Nature.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

15 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You make a great point Jeff..

Was watching video of a lone male Jaguar ( El Jefe) roaming the Santa Rita Mountains which lie roughly 25 miles outside Tucson. While i couldn't see when the video was originally  recorded,  Believe it represents the first real footage of this animal exploring a sliver of what was it's historic range. Reading on, it is incredible to think that these Cats may have roamed as far north as Monterey, and as far east as the mountains of Georgia.

Many people see today's landscapes and think the plants/animals are as they have always been.. forgetting that nature is always changing. Animals and plants move north or south depending on changes in the climate. While i'm sure there are people who freak at the idea of Jaguars, ocelot, or the Mexican Wolf returning to their former homes among the sky Islands, and/or beyond, I can't imagine how awesome an experience it would be to catch sight of any one of these animals taking a stroll through my camp site. 

As far as the monkeys are concerned, live and let live.. heck, Monkeys rafted to South America.. from Africa. It would only be a matter of time before some species from Southern Mexico, or Central America found itself coming ashore somewhere in the Everglades. Such is Nature.

My thoughts, exactly.

jefff