JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Just days after First Coast News exclusively reported that invasive rhesus macaque monkeys are now confirmed residents of the First Coast, homeowners began posting new images of a backyard monkey in the neighborhoods off of County Road 210.
Monkeys have long been a fixture of Central Florida state parklands, but they are not native to Florida, and this is the first time they have been reported in Northeast Florida.
Residents of St. Johns Golf and Country Club saw a large monkey eating oranges poolside Sunday. They called state regulators at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They were told the agency will not come to get the animal and advised neighbors to hire a trapper if they wanted it removed.
Anyone who sees a monkey is advised to avoid contact since they can carry diseases including the herpes B virus. You are also advised to remove any outdoor food sources. It is against Florida law to feed monkeys.
Rheseus macaques were first introduced to Silver Springs State Park in the late 1930s when a tour boat operator named Colonel Tooey released six of them on a manmade island as a tourist attraction. He released another six a decade later.
The monkeys have lived in the state park ever since – alternately mesmerizing and terrifying parkgoers. They’ve also ranged well beyond the park boundaries, with sightings far as Tampa and Apopka.
But this is the first time the monkeys have been reported on the First Coast.
You can see a map of all previously reported local monkey sightings below.
Check out our original story here.