From the New York Post, February 1, 2020:
Roving band of herpes-ridden monkeys now roaming northeast Florida
Forget Florida man, now there’s Florida monkeys.
A roving band of feral, herpes-ridden monkeys is roaming across northeast Florida.....MUCH MORE
The STD-addled rhesus macaques had previously been confined to Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, Florida, but are now being spotted miles away in Jacksonville, St. Johns, St. Augustine, Palatka, Welaka and Elkton, Florida, according to a local ABC affiliate, First Coast News.
Even more worrying: Over a quarter of the 300 feral macaques — an invasive species native to South and Southeast Asia — carry herpes B, according to a 2018 survey, National Geographic reported.
The monkeys were introduced to the area in the 1930s by a local cruise operator, Colonel Tooey’s Jungle Cruise, which released 12 monkeys over a series of years onto a man-made island inside Silver Springs State Park. The monkeys swam to freedom and reproduced at alarming rates and are now wandering around residential areas.
“The potential ramifications are really dire,” University of Florida primate scientist Dr. Steve Johnson told First Coast News. “A big male … that’s an extremely strong, potentially dangerous animal.”....
HT the story was out there: Florida Man Twitter who also relays:
Mix in the invasive boa constrictors and pythons along with meth-addled alligators vacationing from Alabama and you've got yourself a party.
Florida Man Caught with bag of drugs labeled “Bag of Drugs” in large bold letters https://t.co/lReAYY1xxC pic.twitter.com/8Xv1RfMU2S— Florida Man (@FloridaMan__) February 5, 2020
Oh, and iguanas, can't forget the iguanas falling from the trees.
