My Florida Kayaking Adventures

A common greeting among kayakers on my Silver River trip was, “Have you seen any monkeys?”  Everyone seemed to be looking for the elusive rhesus monkeys.  I heard stories of large groups (bands? herds?) of these monkeys jumping from tree to tree or lining the river, staring (daring?) at the paddlers.  However, I saw nary a one.

There have been several explanations for the existence of the rhesus monkeys in this area.  Boning writes that the population of these monkeys may date back to the 1930s when the operators of a sightseeing boat released several monkeys.   Huff repeats three monkey theories: one, that they began as escapes from a medical research lab; two, that they were purposely populated for the tourists; and three, that they were part of the old Tarzan movies filmed on the river in the mid 1900s.  Ohr writes that there is an unconfirmed report of escapees from the Ross Allen attraction that may have added to this monkey business.