Wild Monkey Sightings Reported In Central FL City: Orange City Police

ORANGE CITY, FL — Wild rhesus macaques monkey sightings are being reported throughout Orange City, officials said.

Officers have recently received multiple calls from residents who have spotted the primate, the Orange City Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

Citizens are asked to not feed or attempt to capture the monkeys.

Anyone who has seen or come in contact with one of these monkeys is asked to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or to submit a tip at MyFWC.com/WildlifeAlert.

The rhesus macaque is a nonnative species in Florida, according to the FWC website.

The species isn’t protected in the state other than by anti-cruelty laws and a permit isn’t needed to remove them from property.

FWC warns that macaques may become aggressive when fed and it’s prohibited to feed wild monkeys in Florida. Primates also carry diseases that can spread to humans.