Monkeys living in a concrete jungle
They're from Africa, but they
found a home in between the Fort Lauderdale
Airport and Port Everglades.
Now, FAU's anthropology lab
is studying “The Monkeys of Dania Beach”.
“I came to FAU in August of 2011.”
Dr. Kate Detwiler spent her career traveling to
Gombe National Park
to study African primates.
The 9,000-mile trip takes four flights and
a boat ride and costs more than $5,000.
But she had no idea there's colony of
monkeys living
just 25 miles south of Boca Raton.
"Missy, who is doing her Ph.D. with me.
She said, ‘Is it possible for me to do a
project here’?
And I said, ‘We don’t have monkeys in
Florida’.
And she said, ‘No, they’re in Dania Beach.’’’
Today, our cameras received special permission
to film inside this protected habitat.
"Hello!" "It's great to see you."
“Hi Rachel.
Today, I have Missy Williams, who is a Ph.D.
student, and Daniel Alempijevic, who’s a
Master’s of Science student.
And if we’re quick, we saw monkeys this
morning,”
Dr. Detwiler, she's been studying the monkeys in Africa for quite some time.
But you actually brought it to her attention about the colony here in Dania Beach, right?
Yes, the monkeys here in Dania Beach are
pretty much a local legend
So when I found this population, I thought,
it was a great opportunity and project
to bring to the lab.
So there are some theories on how they
got here.
What do you think?
When I first started the project, I did
encounter different answers as to why the
monkeys are here.
But we really believe the monkeys escaped
from the Dania Chimpanzee Farm which was open
in the late 1940s by the Roosevelt family.
They were importing primates in for biomedical
use.
The vervet monkeys are generally highly
adaptable.
They're generalist primates,
so they can survive anywhere there is a sleeping
tree and access to water.
They are highly omnivorous, so they will eat almost any type of food available.
Sounds like a college student!
Yea, exactly.
We’re now seeing some similarities on
how they move and hide – especially in this
habitat.
So this is a mangrove habitat the monkeys are excellent
at hiding from us.
So what we’re trying now is to set camera
traps up into the canopies, so we can get
them at feeding sites.
And Daniel is here to actually
set up a camera trap.
Who had the idea, "Hey, let’s send
Daniel up in a tree?’”
It was Kate's idea originally.
So you'll set the camera up, and once
you leave, that’s when the activity starts.
Oh sure, they’ll come right over to the camera
– particularly the juveniles.
They will come right over to the camera, and
they’ll touch it.
Sometimes they’ll actually break a camera,
open the camera and do some damage.
If someone is interested in studying anthropology, why is FAU a good choice?
You have this incredible opportunity to
work with a population that is local,
yet not native.
And the projects in Africa, give this incredible opportunity
to study them in their natural habitat.
So we are starting up a program that is hopefully local, yet, global.
