There Be Monkeys Here

The here referenced above is not Tybee Island. We got no monkeys here but surprisingly there are monkeys close. Lots of monkeys. Free range monkeys. The more I learn about this area the more I realize how ignorant I was of the south. So where are these monkeys? Morgan Island, South Carolina located in Beaufort County is also known as Monkey Island. It is about an hour drive from Tybee Island and accessible only by boat. A colony of free-ranging rhesus monkeys was established on the island in 1979.

Morgan Island is a 4,489 acre marshland island with 635 acres of upland. The island is uninhabited and home to a breeding colony of about 3,500 Indian origin rhesus monkeys. A 370 acre portion of the upland supports a semi-tropical maritime forest when the monkey colony resides. The monkey colony was originally located in La Parguera, Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Primate Research Center. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates there were incidents of free ranging monkeys infected with the herpes B virus escaping. The CDC also reported outbreaks among locals when the monkeys became overpopulated. South Carolina offered an island for research. In 1979 over 1,400 were relocated to Morgan Island. There are only two rhesus monkey colonies in the United States with the other being on the Silver River in Florida. Rhesus monkeys were released at Silver Springs in the 1930's and became feral. They remain along the Silver River run and can be seen when traveling the river. (A little note for Mike in case he wants to go about 2 hours north to the Ocala, Florida area). The monkeys on Morgan Island are owned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases which is part of the National Institutes of Health. There is no research done on the island. Several hundred monkeys are captured each year and transported to labs around the United States for testing for diseases. Visitors are strictly prohibited on the island but those who venture near by boat often see the monkeys swarming toward the beaches to protect their shore. Depending on your viewpoint, fortunately or unfortunately, the monkeys have not chosen to invade South Carolina.