Monkey small business: Scientists locate origins of Florida colony

A colony of monkeys has lived for about 70 many years in urban South Florida, in close proximity to jets taking off from a nearby airport and gas storage tanks.

No 1 was quite absolutely sure where by they came from. Until now. 

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Researchers at Florida Atlantic University say they have traced the colony’s origins to the Dania Chimpanzee Farm. The South Florida SunSentinel reported Wednesday there was a monkey escape from the farm in 1948, with most of the monkeys recaptured. But not all of them.

The rest disappeared into a mangrove swamp, wherever their descendants reside today. The FAU group mentioned the colony presently numbers about 41.

The FAU scientists traced the monkeys’ genetics and concluded they ended up brought to Florida from Africa. The monkeys ended up offered generally for health care and military services study.

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A single point is specific: Inhabitants of the Dania Beach front space in which the monkeys stay are exceptionally protective of them.

“The group still loves them,” claimed Deborah “Missy” Williams, guide creator of the research, who is in the FAU Biological Sciences Section. “They care for them. They want them shielded.”

Williams has established the Dania Seaside Vervet Challenge to defend them and is seeking to elevate cash to invest in land to serve as a sanctuary.