Wild Monkeys ‘Attack’ Family At Florida Park (Video)

OCALA, FL — A family’s recent visit to Ocala’s Silver Springs took a wild turn when they encountered some of the park’s most famous inhabitants. It seems the resident rhesus macaques were none too happy to have human visitors and they made it quite clear by growling, hissing and chasing people away.

The sighting was captured on video by 11-year-old Thatcher Ramsey, who appeared delighted with his family’s June 29 encounter. “Guys, this is Florida, there are no monkeys in Florida,” he exclaimed on the video.

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At first, the critters seemed indifferent to the Ramsey family and Thatcher’s filming. After a few minutes, however, they had enough and began chasing the human interlopers away.

“The monkeys are attacking,” Thatcher shouted without skipping a beat in filming.

Susie Ramsey, Thatcher’s mother, told ABC Action News no one was hurt during the encounter. She also told the station the monkeys shooed them away even though no one in the family looked them in the eyes or did anything aggressive, both of which are things wildlife experts warn people against when monkeys are spotted in the wild.

While Thatcher’s assertion that Florida isn’t known for native monkey populations is technically correct, Silver Springs State Park is a unique place. The wild monkey troop that calls the park home today dates back more than 75 years. The original Silver Springs monkeys were brought to the area in the 1930s to bolster a river cruise attraction, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The population of critters was estimated at more than 200 by University of Florida biologists in 2015, the paper reported.

See also: Mystery Monkey's New Home Damaged In Storm

Silver Springs’ macaques have been known to wander outside the park’s boundaries. Tampa Bay’s infamous “Mystery Monkey” is believed by some to have originated from the Silver Springs colony. That critter, known as Cornelius today, became a local legend as he eluded capture for years with sightings reported throughout Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

Captured in October 2012, Cornelius earned such a strong following, he even has his own Facebook page. His story was twice featured on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” taking the name of the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay national.

Cornelius now calls Dade City’s Wild Things zoo home. To find out more about his continuing story, visit Wild Things online.

To check out the Ramsey family’s close encounter, watch the video below:

Screenshot and video via YouTube used with permission from the Ramsey family.