Another Reason to Avoid Florida

As if life wasn’t tough enough, now disease-ridden monkeys in Florida may be harboring a deadly virus.  Thanks Florida!  The story from the Guardian,

“Wildlife managers in Florida say they want to remove roaming monkeys from the state in light of a new study published on Wednesday, which finds some of the animals are excreting a virus that can be dangerous to humans.

Scientists studying a growing population of rhesus macaques in Silver Springs state park say that rather than just carrying herpes B, which is common in the species, some of the monkeys have the virus in their saliva and other bodily fluids, posing a potential risk of spreading the disease.

The macaques, native to Asia, are one of Florida’s many non-native wildlife species. Their contacts with the public, including last summer when the monkeys chased a family, have made them somewhat notorious critters and have caused two partial park closures since 2016. The monkeys also have roamed far outside the park: dozens were photographed recently swarming a deer feeder outside a home in Ocala. They have been spotted in trees in the Sarasota and Tallahassee areas.”

Wait, so monkeys are just roaming around parts of Florida? Terrifying.  Have you ever seen a monkey walking around in the Sunshine State?  I gotta hear that story, email me [email protected].