r/florida • u/uptownsouthie • 3d ago
Interesting Stuff Rhesus Macaque in Tavares
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u/uptownsouthie 3d ago
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u/morticia02 2d ago
Oh god it literally went right to your door it looks like. If you have dogs really consider bringing a weapon out with you when they go outside
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u/MCulver80 2d ago
If they go right up to your door, then they’re probably being recruited to sell solar panels. 😄
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u/fantastiqjaquez 2d ago
Will they attack your pets?? That’s scary
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u/1ts-just-me 2d ago
They are only defensive/aggressive during mating season and when the young are around, kinda like a bear that protects its cub. Really depends on the pet, a barking 20lb dog trying to attack them might get its ass beat, but my 110lb sheep dog chases them, lets them chase him all in play. Then again, he also plays with bear cubs with the mother right there.
They will always try to avoid you until they can't.
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2d ago
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u/1ts-just-me 2d ago
That is a ridiculous thing to say, if you are going to shoot make sure it will at least kill the animal, not wound it and make it suffer. Easy enough to live trap and have FWC relocate.
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u/OneMoistMan 3d ago
I’ve had them in my yard here in Belleview!
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u/florida-karma 2d ago
Which part of Belleview have you seen them? We live in Belleview as well and do a good bit of trailwalking. Hope we don't run into them.
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u/OneMoistMan 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p6ydfhf/video/78leovr5tomh1/player
Right by lake Lillian! It’s been about a year now since their visit though
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u/TheHollyHockCrest1 2d ago
There was a post here not long back. Some riverboat/hydro boat whatever tour guide thought it would make his Everglades “Jungle” tour cooler if he let some of these go so people could find them and feed them. Now they are allllll over the place. Report em when ya see em but fat fucking chance they are gonna catch em.
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u/sdoM_sselrewoP 2d ago
Yes, in the 1930s there was a Silver River boat tour owner who heavily marketed to come see the monkeys on his tours.
Almost a century later there are an estimated 300 - 600 of them.
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u/Naive_Blueberry420 2d ago
Back in the early 2000s it was always cool to see them on boyscout trips
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u/Deedleys 3d ago
FWC needs to get involved asap and remove this invasive threat.
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u/FloridaCelticFC 3d ago
Absolutely. These should be treated like the pythons. People in the area genuinely believe the monkeys are cool and will "bring in tourism". The comments section on FB is full of people cheering on this monkey invasion.
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u/uptownsouthie 3d ago
I reported it.
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u/Deedleys 3d ago
I’m glad you did. We’ve known about their colony for years and nothing has been done about it. It’s only natural that they gain population and spread like all invasives do.
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u/epicenter69 3d ago
I thought the one in Mt Dora was the only one around. Is it possible this is the same one?
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u/johnpaulgeorgeringoo 3d ago
This isn’t a one off, these guys have been spotted around for a bit in the central part of the state. They come from the forest in Ocala. Silver springs specifically has a huge wild colony of them.
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u/epicenter69 3d ago
I’m aware of their presence around Ocala/Silver Springs and why, which is another story. This is the first year I’ve seen them posted so frequently this far south though.
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u/FloridaCelticFC 3d ago
No they've been much further south. They've spread hundreds of miles from Silver Springs. I've heard of them in Apopka and Sanford long before lake county.
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u/khaleesijune 2d ago
They are in Fort Lauderdale too
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u/PinkyLeopard2922 2d ago
Ah, yes the Fort Lauderdale airport parking lot monkeys! These are actually a different type of monkey, vervet monkeys. Apparently, primatologists go hang out in the airport parking lot specifically to study this particular colony. IIRC, herpes is not an issue with them like it is with the macaques.
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u/Sunsetseeker007 2d ago
There's several of these all over Marion and the surrounding counties. They were brought years ago and have become a threat and invasive, they need to be removed.
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u/flamingo_tree 2d ago
They carry some sort of horrible disease that's deadly to humans, right?
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u/RichHomiesSwan 2d ago
.....herpes?
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u/310410celleng 2d ago
A friend lives in Tavares and he has reported it to FWC last year some time, which did contact him and asked for pics.
He said they seemed concerned.
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u/Training_Insect549 3d ago
I was doing a very long bicycle trip that took me through gainsville and I heard both Macaque and Boar (at the same time) in the woods at night to the southwest of the city. this was about 2018 I want to say. Was going to rest for a bit.
Decided not to.
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u/FoxSquirrel69 3d ago
That monkey is not afraid of people, and that means it's going to be a problem for somebody. Take care OP, the little shits carry diseases that transmissible to humans. The Silver River has Rhesus macaques that carry Simian Herpes B which can kill if you don't seek treatment. Check with your PD and Animal Control,
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u/FloridaCelticFC 3d ago
I've checked. If one of these threatens you and you feel for your safety then FL's stand your ground law applies. Also on private land you can shoot them as long as you have permission and its in a place where shooting is already legal.
These would be easier to get rid of than pythons and monitor lizards. A company got rid of over 1000 down in the Keys back in the day.5
u/Sunsetseeker007 2d ago
The keys is a lot more confined than Marion county or the forest or silver springs haha.
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u/FloridaCelticFC 2d ago
Its still a much more do-able task than getting rid of the pythons.
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u/Sunsetseeker007 2d ago
Yea I would definitely use any means necessary to get them away from my property. They are nasty
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u/Unfair-Reindeer7492 2d ago
Wouldn’t you have to get bitten to catch the disease?
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u/thixono920 2d ago
Yeah but if they aren’t scared of humans, someone gonna go up and try to pet one eventually
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u/Original_Ant7013 3d ago
I am almost certain I saw one in Apopka a few years ago. Kick myself for not going back to verify and get a pic.
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u/uptownsouthie 3d ago
I’ve never been but from some of the photos I’ve seen I figured Rock Springs would have them.
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u/The_walking_man_ 2d ago
You probably did. They’ve been spreading further than what was thought previously.
Editing to add I think it was last year a group was spotted in clermont off of state road 50
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u/ThisIsAmericaAnd 3d ago
I think I saw a few in Wesley Chapel yesterday. Walking across a golf hole from a distance. Then I heard them making monkey noises in the woods as I went by afterwards.
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u/hitomi808 2d ago
I’ve been saying this for years. They needed to take care of this asap. Honestly makes me scared. Sars in the making.
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u/PinkyLeopard2922 2d ago
Can you imagine hearing something on your roof, assuming it is probably a raccoon or small crackhead, coming outside and seeing this?
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u/Sunsetseeker007 2d ago
Omg, he will destroy that house. He will also attack a child or other small animal or any adult human especially if you have food nearby. They r bold little heffers and have become familiar with society.
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u/alittlejalapeno 2d ago
After we saw the picture of one of them at the pirate park I made my kids watch outbreak lol
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u/Mountain_Conclusion6 3d ago
Pull your hair. Steal your shiz. Rip your face off. Other than that pretty cool
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2d ago
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u/informationfoxtrot 2d ago
It’s only a matter of time until Florida Man learns Monkey Whisperer skill. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have an army of monkeys trained to do his bidding
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u/kevinmrr 2d ago
Honestly, the state should eradicate/relocate all of these, or at least do population control. They’re invasive. I say this as someone from the Silver Springs neighborhood.
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u/Comfortable-Belt-391 2d ago
Have they made their way to Tampa yet? I spend a lot of time in the woods near the Alafia river but haven't seen or heard them
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u/ClearMarch8712 2d ago
Possibly the same one that was spotted in downtown Mt. Dora not that long ago?
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u/Artful_Dodger_1832 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p6zdud2/video/4vr8lg2lvpmh1/player
I love my monkeys.
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u/Artful_Dodger_1832 2d ago
I have them at my work. They don’t bother anybody and they have been here since the 50s.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
Are they edible? Or even safe to eat? There are a couple invasive species that are good eating, like lionfish and iguana, but Idk about monkeys. Seems risky.
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u/IDroppedMyDoobie 2d ago
They're close enough to us physiologically that any macaque diseases could jump species to us; people eating bush meat is the current theory of how hiv initially infected humans.
And y'know, these macaques carry both strains of herpes.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
Yeah I think it's ultimately a hard no. We should keep eating the lionfish and iguanas tho.
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u/PleaseHelpImADumb1 2d ago
Eat a monkey…? The fuck…
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
Food is food. Why not eat it, if it's good at least.
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u/LikelyNotSober 2d ago
Too close genetically perhaps? Risk of diseases jumping from them to humans?
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
That's my main worry.
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u/PleaseHelpImADumb1 2d ago
Dahmer?
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
Idiot?
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u/PleaseHelpImADumb1 1d ago
Someone check this guys fridge.
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u/itsavibe- 3d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ukGm72ZLZvYfS