[National Geographic] In the heart of central Florida lies Silver Spring State Park‐a large patchwork of forests and wetlands with a spring-fed river flowing through it. One of Florida’s first tourist attractions, the park was once known for its scenic vistas and native wildlife. But for the last 80 years, the park’s biggest draw has been its monkeys.That’s right‐Silver Spring State Park is home to at least 300 rhesus macaques, a monkey native to south and southeast Asia. The animals are breeding rapidly, and a new study estimates that the monkey population will double by 2022 unless state agencies take steps to control it.
The study, published October 26 in the journal Wildlife Management, claims that such an increase could put the health of the park and its visitors in serious jeopardy‐because, among other problems, the monkeys carry a rare and deadly form of herpes virus called herpes B. It’s extremely rare for herpes B to spread from a monkey to a human, but when it does, it can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord leading to brain damage or death.
Florida’s primate problem began in 1938 when a tour boat operator known as "Colonel Tooey" released six rhesus macaques onto a small island within what is now the state park. He procured the monkeys from a primate dealer in New York City with the intention to create a Tarzan-themed attraction on the island, but his plans quickly unraveled.