These wild monkeys thrive in Florida--and carry a deadly viru

[mfcorey1]

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/florida-rhesus-monkeys-herpes-running-wild-invasive-species/



In the heart of central Florida lies Silver Spring State Park—a large patchwork of forests and wetlands with a spring-fed river flowing through it. One of Florida’s first tourist attractions, the park was once known for its scenic vistas and native wildlife. But for the last 80 years, the park’s biggest draw has been its monkeys.

That’s right—Silver Spring State Park is home to at least 300 rhesus macaques, a monkey native to south and southeast Asia. The animals are breeding rapidly, and a new study estimates that the monkey population will double by 2022 unless state agencies take steps to control it.

The study, published October 26 in the journal Wildlife Management, claims that such an increase could put the health of the park and its visitors in serious jeopardy—because, among other problems, the monkeys carry a rare and deadly form of herpes virus called herpes B. It’s extremely rare for herpes B to spread from a monkey to a human, but when it does, it can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord leading to brain damage or death.


An introduced population of rhesus macaques proven to be carrying the dangerous herpes B virus resides in Silver Springs State Park, a popular tourist destination.

[NurseJackie]

1. Do they capture and kill? Or bait with birth-control?

Those animals freak me out. And some people keep them as pets ... yet even 'tame' they're vicious and often have all their teeth pulled.

[mitch96]

6. "some people keep them as pets"

I had a girl friend that had a small monkey, don't know what brand it was... Vile little thing and she had to get rid of it... It was over protective and would not let man nor woman near her. It would masturbate all the time and throw shit on men if they got close...
m

[NurseJackie]

2. Looks like the "locals" and Peta (presumed) are a hindrance to population control efforts.

To completely eradicate them, the most viable option would be to remove half of the adults and those nearing adulthood every two years for at least 16 years, Anderson adds. But many locals don’t support such a move.

Both sterilization and removal ended abruptly around 2012 when the public discovered the monkeys were being taken from the park and sold. By that time, trappers with permits from the state had delivered more than 1,000 monkeys into the hands of biomedical researchers, much to the dismay of animal rights groups. One trapper alone caught and sold 700 of the creatures.

[mitch96]

3. I remember in the early '80s some monkeys attacked a driver in Davie Fla...

Apparently a bunch of lab monkeys (don't know what kind) were living in a undeveloped part of Davie near the water... A driver hit one of the monkeys one early morning.. He got out to see what he hit and was promptly attacked by a bunch of the dead monkeys friends.. Lucky he got back into his car and called the cops.. Never heard anything about it again.. Just that the monkeys were still there... We also have tons of parrotts that people have released and they have propagated... noisy little guys... Oh and the snakes... can't forget the pythons..
m

https://www.fortlauderdaledaily.com/features/theres-population-wild-monkeys-living-dania-beach

https://patch.com/florida/miami/flying-monkeys-primates-flourish-near-fort-lauderdale-airport

[mfcorey1]

5. I don't know the species, but monkeys escaped from the zoo in

Miami during Hurricane Andrew.

[JCMach1]

4. The virus overhype is always used by authorities who want monkey removal

They have been there since the earliest filming of Tarzan movies in the 1930's (pushing 100 years now). At the same time, monkeys can be mean, nasty and vicious... if you need a lesson, visit almost any place in Africa.

They are kind of an invasive tradition at this point. Just keep the population under control.


Simian B is nasty, but really, really hard to catch...

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/simian-b-virus-infection/