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MOUNT DORA, Florida (WESH) — Mount Dora residents are being cautioned to stay away from monkeys after multiple sightings in the area, with officials emphasizing the importance of keeping a safe distance.
A woman shared a video she said she took on July 15 at the Forest Preserve, a wooded area behind the Mount Dora Public Library. Animal Control said they received two reports of monkey sightings in that area on Sunday. They believe it’s just one monkey that has been spotted multiple times.
Last month, a monkey was also spotted in Gilbert Park.
On Tuesday, WESH 2 News spoke with Priscilla Spears, who said she saw a monkey just last week while driving near a shopping plaza in Mount Dora.
“You don’t think you’re going to see a monkey just driving down the road, you know?” Spears said.
She said at first, she thought she saw a dog on the road before realizing it was a monkey.
“I was like, ‘Who would have their dog out on a busy road?’ And as I got closer, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a monkey,'” Spears said.
The city of Mount Dora issued a monkey-sighting advisory on Tuesday, reminding residents that these are feral animals “that should be admired from a distance.”
“There were a couple posts on Facebook about how to feed these monkeys and stuff like that,” Animal Control Officer Gerry Hodge said. “And what they need to do if they’re confronted with one, they need to just back away, let the monkey go on about its way. They don’t need to try to feed, touch, try to pet it or anything like that.”
Hodge also warned that the monkeys could carry diseases, “mainly the herpes complex,” and advised residents to give the animals their space.
Hodge said the city isn’t trying to trap the monkey. It’s just waiting for it to move along.
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