A Monkey Troupe is Slowly Taking Over a State Park
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.12.17
Enough monkey business!
That’s what officials at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, Florida are saying as monkeys continue to slowly take over the park.
Fox News is reporting two walking areas have have already been shut down as well as an observation deck and a boardwalk because bands of non-native rhesus macaques have essentially taken over.
The assistant director of Florida State Parks, Matt Mitchell, said park rangers are inspecting areas around the park each morning for monkey activity.
These monkeys were first introduced to the area around the 1930’s, and now there’s an estimated 150 to 200 wild rhesus macaques living in the state park and an unknown amount living outside.
Below are photos taken by an Ocala man who’s backyard was invaded by monkeys as they swarmed a deer feeder he put out hoping to get some summer photos of deer on his property. Instead, he got monkeys and a lot of them!:
MAMA MONKEY: Check out this Macaque carrying its baby around an Ocala man’s yard! Concerns he has about his kids hanging around @WFTV at 4. pic.twitter.com/knB5PJz3ho
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) July 7, 2017
Monkey time! Turn to @WFTV RIGHT NOW. pic.twitter.com/uwhUCQMGym
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) July 7, 2017
You can watch some of their aggressive behavior here:
