These include five monkey species, three of which have established breeding populations: rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), squirrel monkeys . The monkeys hated their new home. The information in this article was accurate when published but may change without notice. In this case, he said, he asked Mr. Forman a series of questions: Is there a Lois Key? Lived In West Palm Beach FL, North Palm Beach FL, Columbus OH, Gainesville FL. ''Unless they know a person, they would never get close enough to be visible, let alone eat from a hook,'' he said. (Via PETA). which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, documents diving legend Valerie Taylor. It has been uninhabited ever since. Other than that, locals visit the island for birdwatching, swimming and boating. Also known as Lois D Collins. No go, they said for insurance reasons. No new animals have been introduced. In 1973 the worlds largest producer of laboratory animals set up shop in the Lower Keys. ''They weren't too noticeable until the vegetation began disappearing,'' Mr. McElroy said. Apparently he's still out there. subscription yet. Hot dogs were the preferred bait. Hendry County's so-called monkey farms involve enclosures. Lois is related to David A MacKey and Tonya Marie MacKey as well as 2 additional people. 2014: Mystery Monkey II? Many of the abandoned islands in the Florida Keys have colorful histories which are interesting to learn more about. "The shoreline eroded, and the monkey droppings wash out into the public waters. Watch 'hero' monkey revive fallen monkey: A lesson for humans? They do quite well in the mangrove swamp areas surrounding La Parguera Island. The column in Slate, the online magazine, began with the fairy-tale phrase ''once upon a time.''. ''In terms of gathering up eyewitnesses, there are no Web cams. Some of the free-roaming animals are 28 or 29 years old. Fears are that a hurricane or even a major storm could carry some members of the colony to other islands. He says eventually the company will fully restore the islands and donate them to the state of Florida and the federal government as monkey-free wildlife sanctuaries. It went on to describe a monkey-infested island in the Florida Keys and a cruel sport once practiced by the local residents that was known as ''monkey fishing.'' Key Lois, with 75 free-roaming monkeys, is on the Caribbean side of the Keys. The slow loris was described in 1891 as having the "face of a bear, the hands of a monkey, [and] mov [ing] like a sloth" by American zoologist Dean Conant Worcester. Of all the existing teachings . 2 Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet are being asked by state agencies to order the monkeys out of their home on state-owned Lois and Raccoon keys and into cages on Florida's mainland. Not for long. Peter struggles to keep up with her hard-partying new lifestyle. "It's the amount of degradation that's occurring," says an obviously exasperated Virginia Wetherell, Secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection. There maybe 10 spots to park. On our last trip my daughter and boyfriend rented yaks at Robbies and we launched from there. Perhaps cruelty is a matter of contrast. This message will appear once per week Bob Martinez scuttled the agreement and decided to go after Charles River instead. More than 1,900 breeding animals and several thousand offspring roam on 300 acres of partly submerged wetlands on Key Lois and Raccoon Key. Our friends had an inflatable. '', See the article in its original context from. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Were rhesus monkeys bred there? A Humboldt's squirrel monkey is fooled by the "French Drop" magic trick. Because the monkeys on Lois Key were extremely rare and valuable, they were carefully maintained, he said. Warning signs are posted around the monkey island: "U.S. Government project. Though Mr. Forman defended his story, a friend, Marc Caputo, a reporter for The Palm Beach Post who accompanied Mr. Forman on the trip, said that the fisherman actually did not send his line flying up into the trees, that monkeys did not swarm around the fruit, that the fisherman did not succeed in catching any monkeys and no one cut any fishing lines. Last year he wrote an article critical of New Yorker editors for not being able to smoke out a hoax story about an Internet company published in the magazine last year. Now, a judge is ordering that the monkeys be evicted from their private corner of Margaritaville. ''It looks like a war zone right now, just like Vietnam,'' said James McElroy, who is part of a grass-roots anti-monkey campaign. macaque, (genus Macaca), any of more than 20 species of gregarious Old World monkeys, all of which are Asian except for the Barbary macaque of North Africa. ''They just stripped all the state land and left it bare,'' Governor Martinez said at the Cabinet meeting on June 26. 4. "We have got a national resource for public health that is not available anywhere else," said Bob Routa, Charles River's attorney, who is trying to buy the monkeys time before they have to leave. Soon to be officially renamed David Wolkowsky Key, its currently being used as research station for scientists studying its many imperiled and native species of plants, animals and habitats. Bausch & Lomb, based in Rochester, said that most of the animals were sold to laboratories doing advanced neurological research and that none are used for eye-care tests. While you shouldn't see any of them in the wild most days, these monkeys weigh around three pounds, have long tails of around 40-65 cm (15-26 in), and a body around 38-55 cm (14-22 in). Related terms: archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, isla, isle, key, moku, rock Land County Monroe County, Florida GPS Coordinates Latitude, Longitude: 24.6129227, -81.472583 The monkeys had eaten away most of the mangroves, and the only ones that remained were shielded by steel cages. This guest post was written by Karuna Eberl and Steve Alberts, who lived on Cudjoe Key in the Lower Keys and wrote an entertaining book Key West & the Lower Keys Travel Guide. (Its a terrific book for anyone who loves the Keys, as Karuna and Steve clearly do.). Mr. Caputo said that when he spoke with Mr. Shafer, he was asked about the logistics of the trip, rather than the specifics, like snagging a monkey from a tree. "That's public land out there, and a private corporation, for the sake of making money, is able to destroy the fringe mangroves that none of the rest of us that own them can touch.". Lois Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of Key West. ''They are much too smart, and too strong, and would not eat in that fashion. In addition to disturbing the area's ecology, the monkeys are not vaccinated and could spread disease, Jones said. And because they are untainted by infections from the outside world, they are much more valuable than other primates destined for the nation's laboratories, Dr. Held said. There's also the heralded Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay and asimilar freedom fighter that caused a sensation last Thanksgiving. Wonder if the one above is the one who got away??!! The monkey came flying from the trees, a juicy apple stapled to its palm.''. The monkey came flying from the trees, a juicy apple stapled to its palm. ''That's when people became alarmed.''. As the monkeys reproduced their habitat shrank, and their situation became even more awful. The small island is accessible by boat or at low-tide, you can even walk across. All the sandy bottoms we found were too mucky to get out and stretch out the old legs. This is not the case, however, in war, which is government-sanctioned murder where you do not eat the victim, according to the Geneva Convention. Remnants of the operation, including an old truck, are found tucked away around the island. Most live on Key Lois, in the Atlantic Ocean about 25 miles northeast of Key West and 2 miles from the nearest inhabited island. Locals kayak to the untouched island regularly and the area is also a popular fishing spot with tarpon inhabiting the waters, making it one of the best secret islands in the Keys for fishing enthusiasts. The animals were all tagged and accounted for on a daily basis and any visible injuries -- like one that would be sustained by a fishing hook -- would have been noticed by the site's managers. Hendry County stakeholders are leading a nationwide chorus raising human safety and environmental concerns. Spanish explorer and conquistador Ponce de Len became the first European to lay eyes on them in 1513. Now, armed with proof of the ecological damage being caused by the primates - and the pollution their waste is creating in surrounding waters - the state's environmental agencies are seeking ways to get the monkeys off. "The red mangrove provides critical habitat for wading birds and a nursery for marine life.". Anofficial complaint by PETAsparked a federal investigation in May. In nearby Hendry County the lid is off a secretive monkey trade that is worrying long-time residents, eco-stewards, and animal activists. '', It described one scene like this: ''Once the bait was on the hook, I watched as the monkey-fisherman cast it onto the island, then waited. By: Author Karuna Eberl and Steve Alberts, Categories Florida Keys Getaways, Historic Florida. The monkeys are peeling mangroves like bananas, turning lush, green Key Lois and Raccoon Key into brown clumps of shredded trees. The island is privately owned and one of very few secluded islands in the Keys that offers accommodation. 3. Not like Rwanda cruel but cruel still. Other Web sites also raised questions, but none proved that the events described in the story were not true. But rather than ending the debate, the governor's order has just left the monkey breeding operation in limbo. Use a needle and thread to sew the end of the arm to the body. It hit home on a gut level, because these animals really are a lot like us. When opponents complained, Gov. However, due to the effects of a strange gas, Titano suddenly starts to grow. Imported from India in the mid-1970's on a biosecure charter jet, the monkeys were used in the AIDS protease-inhibitor studies and cost between $5,000 and $10,000 each. Some of the top activities to do on the island include hiking and kayaking through the unspoiled mangroves. Despite conservationists' fears, the monkeys haven't been a threat to all endangered species in the Keys. 19802023 The Christian Science Monitor. By continuing to browse the site So what was I doing here watching grown men snatch monkeys from trees with quality tackle? So we head back to the launch site. loris, (subfamily Lorisinae), any of about 11 species of tail-less or short-tailed South and Southeast Asian forest primates. Humans may have called them home since at least the height of Greek civilization, some 3,600 years ago. Murder is acknowledged as a sport in hunting, so long as you eat the victim and dont merely kill him. Oranges worked well; their rinds combined with their bright coloring made them a natural choice. The fisherman said that the hoax was so convincing that Florida natural resource authorities tried to investigate the manatee pt, and it was mentioned on ''Late Night with David Letterman.''. Little changed until the two sides quietly agreed to a settlement in May that would allow the company to phase out the monkeys over 20 to 30 years. And after a long day of eating its own feces, what monkey could resist a tasty orange? Company officials declined CNN's request for an interview. Enjoy having the 6-acre island to yourself with the safety of nearby Summerland Key being only a mile off-shore. Since the DNR can only punish people for trespassing on or damaging state lands, the ownership question has to be resolved before Charles River can be prosecuted. However, monkeys have hands as well as the ability to use primitive tools, an advantage the fish do not possess. They have removed and taken away state lands.". Charles River has also agreed to remove all caged animals from the keys by early next century and turn the land over to the state of Florida. Mr. Forman did not return phone calls over the weekend. For a long time Key Lois was getting eaten alive by a colony of rhesus macaques that were living large before shipping out to medical labs. BILL ROBERTS, a lawyer for the company, says Charles River recognizes the environmental problems the monkeys have caused. Did people know about the rhesus monkeys? However by 1840, the town was attacked and burnt to the ground, with all who survived abandoning the island. Lois Key is not connected to the rest of the Florida Keys by bridge or by land. We went with some friends 5/8/22 to show them Indian and Ligumvitum Key. Karuna Eberl also writes about ideas and nature in her blog Nature Rising. This was put to a stop in 1998 when the operation was ordered to be shut down due to the mangroves being destroyed by the monkeys and the water polluted by their excrement. From pirate gold to giant apes, the mystery of what might be found on a speck of land peeking up through a vast sea has captivated imaginations for millennia. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Go around it twice so it's extra secure. A fascination with the bizarre. They basically torture the fish for fun. I was not the kind of kid who tortured animals. That would probably have tied up the loose ends. Florida countersued, claiming to own about half the land -- everything below the mean high water line. "And, to be honest, they ate a lot of mangroves," Routa said. Several of the 1733 wreck charts show Cayo Cagumas. Charles River Laboratories is a subsidiary of the optical giant Bausch and Lomb. It was free but had no parking. On a few of the hidden islands in the Florida Keys, some of these tales are actually true. ''The line was cut, and the monkey floundered back to await medical testing,'' he wrote. Sometimes when monkeys do escape from a zoo or enclosure they hang around the enclosure rather than run off into the wilds because their friends and families are still inside the fence, Bercovitch said. It is contained in one of the least-visited national parks, Dry Tortugas. Consider fishermen who practice catch and release with fish. Typically, if [a monkey] does get out beyond the confines of the cage, rarely and I mean rarely do they ever leave. Lois Key and nearby Racoon Key are owned by Charles River Laboratories, the world's biggest producer of lab animals. If fish could scream, would we still fish? Run to Win Consulting, LLC. No one talks much about Monkey Island anymore. Yes. The third result is Lois M MacKey age 70s in Tewksbury, MA. 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