Groveland 'monkeys around' with viral video of rhesus macaque sighting
South Lake County caterer Naxel Miranda, owner of Miranda's Kitchen, was among the residents in and around Groveland who have reported sightings of a Rhesus Macaque monkey wandering the streets.
"I was picking up my daughter from school at South Lake High School in Groveland and then I saw this animal walking in the sidewalk, but I thought was a cat or something like that because I’m not used to seeing monkeys in Florida, but when I get closer was a monkey and that’s when I took my phone out and start recording the video," the 31-year-old dad and caterer told the Daily Commercial.
Here's the surprising part: It's not the first time people in central Florida, far from Silver Springs State Park and other wildlife attractions, have reported macaque and other monkey sightings.
Primate expert Linda Wasko, president of Primate Paradise in Osteen, commented to FOX 35 about the sighting in Groveland. She, along with the FWC, identified the primate as a rhesus macaque and explained that the monkeys may have migrated from the Wekiva River area, possibly originating from a group that came from Silver Springs in the 1930s, the legacy of a 1930s jungle tour boat operator.
The furry critters get around. NBC reported last August that residents of Orange City, about 30 miles north of Orlando, reported multiple sightings of wild monkeys within the city, according to the Orange City Police Department.
A commenter on the Ocala National Forest Pictures and History page on Facebook said he once spotted a rhesus on his property in Salt Springs.
A monkey's cousin? A crab-eating monkey related to deadly, swimming monkeys?
According to the above USA Today report, 230 reports going back to 1959 with the majority of entries falling between 2007 and November 2023 have been issued to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission up until this year.
Wild monkeys such as the macaques and primates like chimpanzees, because they are not native to Florida, can have negative impacts on native wildlife, ecosystems and agriculture, according to the FWC. The macaques carry diseases that can potentially be spread to humans, including rabies and herpes B. If you encounter a macaque or rhesus monkey in Florida, keep a safe distance and never feed one.
You can download the FWC's "Monkey English" brochure at https://myfwc.com/media/17162/brochure_monkey_english.pdf
Report Florida monkey/primate sightings and aggressive behavior to FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Video of wild monkey sighting in Groveland goes viral
