{{Short description|Wild troupes of the rhesus macaque}}

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[[File:Silver River monkey.jpg|thumb|A rhesus macaque on Florida's [[Silver River (Florida)|Silver River.]]]]

'''Feral rhesus macaques''' are wild troupes of the [[rhesus macaque]] (''Macaca mulatta'') released by researchers, zoos, or private owners, that have been able to survive and propagate in several places in the [[United States]].

== Florida ==

Various colonies of rhesus and other monkey species, such as [[common squirrel monkey]]s and [[vervet monkey]]s, have been found in Florida. They are thought to have gained freedom after zoo and wildlife park facilities were destroyed in hurricanes, most notably [[Hurricane Andrew]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/20/090420fa_fact_bilger |title=Swamp Things |work=[[The New Yorker]] |first=Burkhard |last=Bilger |date=20 April 2009}}</ref>

A 2020 estimate put the number at 550–600 rhesus macaques living in the state;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/02/25/rhesus-macaques-herpes-florida/ |title=People can’t agree on what to do about Florida’s herpes-infected monkeys |first=Hannah |last=Knowles

|date=25 February 2020 |access-date=5 September 2021 |publisher=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> officials have caught more than 1000 of the monkeys in the past decade. Most of the captured monkeys tested positive for [[herpes B virus]]. Wildlife officials consider the animals a public health hazard.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2013/09/12/herpes-infected-monkeys-terrorize-florida/ |title=Herpes-infected monkeys terrorize Florida |work=[[New York Post]] |first=Natalie |last=O'Neill |date=12 September 2013}}</ref>

=== Silver Springs State Park ===

A colony of rhesus macaques was established around [[Silver Springs (attraction)|Silver Springs]]<ref name="UFLIFASEDIS">{{cite web | title=WEC367/UW412: History and Status of Introduced Rhesus Macaques (''Macaca mulatta'') in Silver Springs State Park, Florida | website=Ask IFAS, Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS) | publisher=[[Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences]] (IFAS), UF | date=2022-01-21 | url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW412 | access-date=2022-02-09}}</ref> in [[Florida]] around the spring of 1938. The monkeys were released by tour boat operator Colonel Tooey<ref>"Colonel" was his first name, according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/magazine/tampa-monkey.html?pagewanted=all ''The New York Times'', August 28, 2012]</ref> to enhance his Jungle Cruise ride. A traditional story that the monkeys were released for scenery enhancement in the [[Tarzan]] movies that were filmed at that location is false, as the only Tarzan movie filmed in the area, 1939's ''[[Tarzan Finds a Son!]]'' contains no rhesus macaques, in part because of the species' bad temperament.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Primates Face to Face| author = Wolfe, Linda, Cambridge University Press| year = 2002 | isbn = 052179109X | page = 320}}</ref> The monkeys continue to thrive along the [[Silver River (Florida)|Silver River]] to this day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120105/ARTICLES/120109738/1109/sports?Title=Catching-selling-Silver-River-monkeys-is-lucrative|title=Catching, selling Silver River monkeys is lucrative|last=Hiers|first=Fred|date=January 5, 2012|work=[[The Gainesville Sun]]|accessdate=2012-09-12|location=Gainesville, FL}}</ref>

===Tampa Bay===

The "Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay" is a rhesus macaque that was on the loose and evading capture for approximately four years in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]].<ref name="APMarch242010">{{cite news |url=https://www.syracuse.com/have-you-heard/index.ssf/2010/03/elusive_monkey_romps_in_tampa.html |title=Elusive monkey romps in Tampa Bay area |work=[[The Post-Standard]] |first=Maria |last=Welych |date=March 24, 2010}}</ref> The monkey is thought to be a male that weighs {{convert|30|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=off|0}}.<ref>[http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=126658&catid=8 Monkey, loose, eludes police St. Petersburg], WTSP-TV CBS, March 4, 2010</ref>

Authorities are not certain of the origin of this monkey; it may have migrated from the troupe of wild monkeys in [[Silver Springs State Park]],<ref name="monkeyssilveriver">{{cite web |url=http://www.wildlifesouth.com/Locations/Florida/SilverRiver.html |title=Silver River - Florida |accessdate=2010-03-25 |publisher=WildlifeSouth |last=Kegley|first=Joe|date=2007-05-15}}</ref> approximately 103 miles northeast of St. Petersburg.<ref name="distance">{{cite web |url=http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=29%3A10%3A50.4821N+82%3A8%3A47.3997W&place2=St.+Petersburg%2C+FL |title=How Far is It? Distance Server: As the Crow Flies |accessdate=2010-03-25 |publisher=indo.com}}</ref> It may have escaped from an owner who did not have a wildlife permit and had not registered the monkey.<ref name = "APMarch242010"/>

== South Carolina ==

There is a colony of rhesus macaques on [[Morgan Island, South Carolina|Morgan Island]], one of the [[Sea Islands]] in the [[South Carolina Lowcountry]]. They were imported in the 1970s for use in the local labs.<ref>[http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/8961941.htm The State | Homepage<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040826195106/http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/8961941.htm |date=2004-08-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Taub DM, Mehlman PT |title=Development of the Morgan Island rhesus monkey colony |journal=P R Health Sci J |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=159–69 |date=April 1989 |pmid=2780958 }}</ref>

== Puerto Rico ==

A research colony was established by the Caribbean Primate Research Center of the [[University of Puerto Rico]] on the island of [[Cayo Santiago]],<ref name="Rawlins-1986">{{cite book | last1=Rawlins | first1=Richard G. | last2=Kessler | first2=Matt J. | title=The Cayo Santiago Macaques: History, Behavior, and Biology | series=SUNY series in primatology | publisher=State University of New York Press | publication-place=Albany | year=1986 | isbn=978-0-88706-135-6 | oclc=42855829 | pages=306}}</ref> off of [[Puerto Rico]]. There are no predators on the island, and humans are not permitted to land, except as part of the research program.

Another research colony was released into the [[Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge]] in 1966. This was recognized as a mistake by 1970. {{As of|2022}} they are continuing to do ecological harm, damage crops amounting to $300,000/year and cost $1,000,000/year to manage.<ref name="UFLIFASEDIS" />

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Individual monkeys]]

[[Category:History of Silver Springs, Florida]]

[[Category:Feral animals]]

[[Category:Invasive animal species in the United States]]