LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida residents see lots of animals in the wild, including Florida manatees, panthers, and alligators.
But one father spotted an unusual animal while picking up his daughter from high school last week.
“I saw like this animal, I thought like a cat or a dog or something like that and when I get closer, I realize it was a monkey,” Naxel Miranda, the owner of Mariand’s Kitchen said.
The monkey, likely a rhesus macaque, was spotted near the Lake County school. Although the animal is adorable, it worried Miranda with so Florida many kids around.
“I was worried like the kids get hurt from the monkey because I know the monkeys carry a lot of disease,” Miranda said.
The animal was spotted last Friday but Miranda said it hasn’t been seen since.
“I’m not going to lie,” Miranda said. “Sometimes I look and tell my daughter or my wife, maybe we see it again or maybe we see more of them.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, monkeys fall under class II wildlife, meaning they are considered a potential threat to human safety. Ownership of these species requires a permit.
NBC affiliate WESH reported that monkeys were brought into the Silver Springs area years ago to boost attraction. But now, some of them just wander around.
