Bypassing the front desk, Rhesus macaque monkeys are romping around outside Mount Dora’s Lakeside Inn.
A spokesperson for the hotel spotted the monkeys – which originally settled in Silver Springs State Park – about 10 a.m. on June 19.
Guests expecting a quiet morning coffee on the sweeping verandas of Florida’s oldest continuously operating hotel were instead greeted by the rustle of primates in the property’s ancient oak trees. Some of the macaques, famous for their decades-long reign over the Silver River, have temporarily traded state park woodlands for the manicured lawns and lakeview cabanas of the historic resort.
What to do if you see a monkey?
Officials from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission are urging Mount Dora residents and hotel guests to keep their distance, reminding the public that a significant percentage of the wild macaques carry the rare but highly dangerous Herpes B virus.
If you encounter monkeys in Lake County, also remember that feeding them is a feeding wild monkeys in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor.
Why do we have Rhesus macaques in Florida?
The feral rhesus macaques found around Silver Springs are a throwback to a local tour boat operator known as Colonel Tooey.
In 1938, Tooey operated a “jungle cruise” attraction on the Silver River and decided to release around six monkeys onto a small island, hoping to create a Tarzan-esque experience to liven up the tours for his customers.
Unfortunately for Tooey, he failed to realize that rhesus macaques are actually excellent swimmers. The monkeys promptly abandoned the island, swimming out into the surrounding state park woodlands where they thrived, bred, and established the wild population that still roams Central Florida today.
Have monkeys been spotted in Lake County before?
Yes, earlier this year, monkeys were spotted around the border of Leesburg and Tavares, and in the past few years, they’ve been sighted in Groveland and Clermont.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Wild monkeys enjoy a stay outside historic Mount Dora hotel
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial | USA TODAY Network
