Monkey sightings put Mount Dora residents on distance alert
Mount Dora warned residents to keep clear of wild rhesus macaques after several recent sightings around the Florida city.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
A monkey outside a Florida inn, another at a city park and a third near a shopping plaza have put Mount Dora on primate watch.
The City of Mount Dora warned residents Monday on social media after reports of monkeys inside city limits, telling people to look, not approach. The city said the animals are wild and feral, and should be viewed only from a safe distance.
The advisory followed several recent sightings around the city. According to UPI, a wild rhesus macaque was photographed last month outside the Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora. Another monkey was recorded July 15 at Gilbert Park.
Resident Priscilla Spears told WESH-TV she saw a monkey last week near a Mount Dora shopping plaza. She said she first thought she was looking at a dog on a busy road before realizing what it was.
“I was like, ‘Who would have their dog out on a busy road?’ And as I got closer, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a monkey,’” Spears told the station.
City tells residents to keep their distance
In its public warning, Mount Dora said it had received reports of monkey sightings in the city. The message reminded residents that an encounter may be unusual, but the animals are not pets.
“While seeing a monkey may be unusual, please remember they are wild, feral animals and should be admired from a safe distance,” the city said in the post.
The warning did not identify the animals in each sighting, but UPI reported that at least one was a rhesus macaque. The species has a long history in central Florida, tied to a colony at Silver Springs.
A Silver Springs backstory
Mount Dora sits about 12 miles from Silver Springs, where a wild monkey population has lived for decades, according to UPI.
The monkeys trace back to 1938, when a tour boat operator brought rhesus macaques to an island that is now part of Silver Springs State Park, UPI reported. The plan did not account for one key detail: the monkeys could swim well.
After being placed on the island, the macaques escaped into the surrounding area, according to UPI. Their descendants have remained part of the region’s wildlife story ever since.
For Mount Dora residents, city officials are keeping the advice short and practical: if a monkey turns up, do not treat it like a neighborhood pet. Watch from a distance and leave the animal alone.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.