Belleview residents got a different kind of wildlife wake-up call Sunday when two wild monkeys were caught on camera near SE 55th Avenue and SE 109th Street.
The now-viral video, posted by a Ring user, stirred up chatter across social media as South Marion locals shared their own monkey sightings stretching from Candler to downtown Belleview.
Some residents pointed the finger at the infamous Silver Springs monkey colony, said to have descended from escapees brought in the 1930s. “They never caught them all,” one commenter claimed. “Never should have happened in the first place.” The tale of Belleview’s backyard primates begins in the 1930s, when a tour boat operator known as Colonel Tooey released six rhesus macaques onto an island in the Silver River to enhance his “Jungle Cruise” attraction. Unaware of their swimming prowess, Tooey’s plan to keep them confined failed as the monkeys quickly escaped and established a wild population along the riverbanks. Over the decades, their numbers grew, and they became a fixture in the area, often mistakenly linked to the filming of Tarzan movies in Silver Springs.
Fast forward to today, and the monkey business has expanded beyond Silver Springs. The rhesus macaque population, once estimated at around 175 in 2015, was projected to double by 2022.
Some locals said it’s become a common—if unsettling—sight. “There’s one who lives by Ace Hardware. He gets loose sometimes!” one Belleview resident wrote. More sightings were reported near Belleview Playland, right by the playground, and even near the Belleview Police Station. “The crows and hawks are warning the neighborhood about it, too,” one local quipped. Rhesus macaques are omnivores. While they mostly munch on fruit, leaves, and insects, they have been known to raid bird nests.
Florida wildlife officials have long warned about the dangers of the invasive rhesus macaque population, which has spread far beyond Silver Springs, with some commenters claiming sightings as far away as DeLand. While some locals find their presence amusing, wildlife officials are concerned due to the potential health risks, as a portion of the population carries the herpes B virus, which can be dangerous to humans.
For now, it seems South Marion has a new kind of backyard critter—and residents are split on whether it’s cute, creepy, or cause for concern.
