Archive surfing revealed that the original Diana Beach monkeys were most likely first captured in Sierra Leone and taken to Florida where they escaped a fa
Origin of Florida s wild colony of Vervet monkeys is traced to an escape from a local chimpanzee farm in 1948
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University say they have traced the colony s origins to the Dania Chimpanzee Farm
The study determined there was a monkey escape from the farm in 1948, with most - but not all - of the monkeys recaptured
Those that evaded capture settled into a mangrove swamp near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where their descendants live today
Monkeys Living Near Florida Airport Connected to 1948 Zoo Escape
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For over 70 years, a small population of African green monkeys has been thriving in a mangrove forest near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. A team of researchers recently conducted a genetic analysis to determine the monkeys’ origin story, and it turns out that they’re longtime Florida residents and likely descendants of a 1948 zoo escape.
Though the monkeys are familiar to local humans, no one knew their exact biological identity or geographical origins until the recent research efforts. The primates are green monkeys, the researchers report in the journal Primates. Native to West Africa and called green for the tint of their tan fur, the mon
In the 1940s, monkeys escaped from a farm. Their descendants now live in a thriving colony in Florida
The monkeys have settled in a thick mangrove forest near an urban airport.
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Two green monkeys kissing in the mangrove forest near e Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida. Credit: Aaron Mencia.
For over seven decades, a colony of green monkeys (
Chlorocebus sabaeus) has been living in urban South Florida, close to where jets take off from a nearby airport. Although Dania Beach locals love them, no one was quite sure how they got there.
Now, researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) claim they’ve traced the colony origin to the Dania Chimpanzee Farm jailbreak.