Macaque Monkey Sighted at 3001 E. Elm Street in Tampa Florida

It WAS a monkey and it's still missing after Tampa sighting

Staff photo by PETER MASA

There was something in the trees above 3001 E. Elm St. in Tampa. Officials now believe it was a macacque.

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2009

TAMPA - The monkey-turned-raccoon-turned-monkey was still on the loose this morning in East Tampa, last seen hunkered down in a tree on Elm Street just south of Sligh Avenue west of the Hillsborough River.

Initially, residents called to say there was a monkey on the loose. Then, spectators said it appeared to be a big raccoon. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers arrived and determined it was indeed a monkey – in fact, a macaque.

"An officer went up into the tree to get a better look at it," commission spokesman said Gary Morse this morning.

Officers are not staking out the neighborhood but want a call when someone spots the animal, he said.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," he said. "If somebody calls us, we'll go out and try to dart it."

Officers have no idea where the macaque came from. A breeding population of rhesus macaques lives in the woods of the Silver Springs area, near Ocala, but officers here don't know whether there is a connection.

It's possible the monkey is a pet that escaped, Morse said. So far, no one has filed a missing monkey report. A permit is required in order to have a monkey.

Lowry Park Zoo officials said the animal isn't from their facility.

"All of ours are accounted for," zoo spokeswoman Rachel Nelson said Wednesday.

Morse said officers have given up the active hunt.

"We're just telling people if they see it to just let us know," Morse said. "Don't feed it and don't approach it."

The macaques generally are not aggressive, but they can be "if you corner them or get in their personal space," he said. "They are very strong and capable of hurting somebody, but only if they feel threatened. They are not going to go out there and hunt somebody down."

Anyone who spots the animal is asked to call the wildlife alert hot line, 1-888-404-3922.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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Another article

TAMPA, Fla. — Wildlife officials say they spent hours searching for a monkey on the lam in the Tampa area and couldn't locate the animal.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the monkey was first spotted in a tree in a residential area late Wednesday morning. Investigators gave up the search early Wednesday night.

Authorities now believe the monkey is hiding near a local park, but it is unclear if they will continue looking for the primate. A commission spokesman says officials will decide whether to suspend their search for the animal, member of the macaque family, on Thursday morning.

The spokesman says investigators aren't sure where the monkey came from, and representatives from local zoo Lowry Park said the animal isn't from their facility.

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