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Police are cautioning locals to avoid the monkeys after they were recently seen wandering around in strange locations in central Florida.
The Orange City Police Department, located in Volusia County, posted on social media that it had been notified of “multiple reports of monkey sightings” in the town. The department advised anyone who sees monkeys to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission instead of feeding or approaching them.
A river tour operator captured a popular video of a monkey lounging on a forested bank along a river close to Orange City.
“I looked up into a tree and kind of went, ‘What’s that!?'” St. John’s River Eco Tours’ Colin Innes told WKMG, a CBS station. “As I drew closer, I saw that I had a monkey, possibly no more than thirty feet away. And believe me, I was taken aback since that isn’t something you see out here very often.”
According to WKMG, an elementary school principal in Volusia County had to alert parents about a monkey after witnessing it scuttle through the school’s drop-off area on Wednesday.
A local woman reported to WKMG that she had spotted a monkey scaling her fence. She initially believed the animal to be a cat before realizing its size.
“When I saw his body, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really big,'” Evelyn Coira Arquette remarked. “I have three cats.” “I mean, we’re talking about four feet probably long.”
What kind of monkey is being seen has not been disclosed by officials. According to WKMG, authorities have not verified if locals are seeing the same primate in several places or if they are seeing more than one monkey.
Residents have been warned by police not to feed the monkeys, as this is against a 2017 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regulation. According to WKMG, feeding monkeys by humans increases their likelihood of returning to a certain area and may make them violent.
In order to keep monkeys away from trash cans, residents should also be careful to dispose of leftover food and rubbish in closed containers. In addition to reporting any sightings, children should be kept close and dogs should be leashed if monkeys are spotted nearby. Get medical help right away if a wild monkey bites or scratches you.
Residents in the area were warned to protect their windows and doors after 43 monkeys escaped from a South Carolina research facility last month. According to reports, four of the monkeys are still at large.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
