E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
James Borchuck / Tampa Bay Times
The mysterious monkey was spotted on Wednesday afternoon.
A woman who fended off an attack by a celebrity simian known as the 'Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay' was recovering from her injuries on Wednesday as authorities searched for the wild animal, Florida wildlife officials said.
The woman, who said she didn’t want her name to be released, was reportedly sitting on her front porch on Monday when the monkey jumped on her back and began scratching and gnawing on her skin. She reached behind, grabbed the monkey’s leg and tossed him in to the bushes before he ran off, Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the Tampa Bay Times.
"She could hear the clicking of teeth," the woman's daughter told the newspaper, who said she was inside cooking when she heard her mother scream.
The woman suffered several puncture wounds and scratches and was taken to the hospital, where doctors gave her shots to prevent infections.
Tampa Bay Times, file
Florida wildlife officials are on the hunt for the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay, a wild rhesus macaque, which has garnered national attention.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
The monkey, which has gained notoriety in recent years after numerous sightings throughout the area, is a 40-pound wild rhesus macaque, which officials believe may have been cast out of a colony in Silver Springs near Ocala, Fla.
Officials in the area were attempting to track and trap the monkey Wednesday morning. Morse said they will try to trap the monkey alive, but given the attack it’s possible that trappers will have to kill it, he said.
Residents say the monkey has never been aggressive until now, the Times reported.
Officials said in the past year, the monkey has settled quietly into the area where residents have given him food despite warnings from authorities about coming into contact with the animal.
Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com
“The public was warned about the dangers of feeding this animal,” Morse told the Times. “It is a shame that it has come to this. Human kindness and food cannot overcome millions of years of genetic evolution.”
The monkey has become something of a celebrity, the Tampa Bay Times reported. A Facebook page for the mystery monkey has been featured on Comedy Central’s "Colbert Report" and in a National Geographic special.
Officials are asking anyone who sees the monkey to stay away and call police immediately.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Suicide is epidemic for American Indian youth: What more can be done?
- San Francisco sheriff reinstated despite domestic abuse conviction
- Video: Rape victim: I was ‘shocked’ at computer subpoena
- Lawyer defends release of names of alleged Boy Scout molesters
- Found in suitcase at LAX: Smoke grenade, hatchet, body bags, leg irons
- 'Warmest year' looking more likely for 2012 across continental US
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Monkeys are WILD animals -- not pets. They carry all sorts of diseases ...
When I lived in Key West many years ago, there was a wild monkey in the trees behind my house and he would look into my bedroom window and jump around in the trees. He was wild but he never bothered anybody or anything that I know of but I was still afraid of him. Wild animals are just that, WILD, and they can cause damage to humans. Stay away from them and I do hope they capture this poor monkey soon.
why dont we just shock the monkey :)
The innocent monkey was out looking for a little nookie and was rebuffed, and set upon, by this "lady." Obviously nobody here gives a damn about the monkey's feelings. It's not a question of relocating the monkey, but what does it say about us as a society that's so quick to condemn the victim and applaud the abuser? That whore was probably leading the monkey on until it's wild urges just took over and she got bit. I'd like to see that vile woman locked in a monkey cage, with a dozen horny apes for at least 6 months, until she's rehabilitated.
That woman spanked my monkey!
She flung a 40# monkey from the porch into the bushes. That is one tough woman. Think about it 40#'s is a pretty heavy weight to grab with one hand a throw it anywhere.
time for the monkey to be removed
That was too funny... I called my boss and told him I couldn't make it in this morning because I got a monkey on my back!
I hope they dont kill him :( poor baby. Just trap him and save him!!!
kinda looks like Joe Biden, when he was young. Same comb-over!
Okay the man that ate the other mans face, Was NOT on Bath Salts, autopsy confirmed that but the media didn't pass that one along, not a great story...
& I wish they would leave the Monkey alone & the Pythons & other exotic reptiles, fish, & amphibians.
Burmese Pythons & Rock Pythons & many others are going extinct in there home lands, they are flourishing here in Florida, I say let em stay... Soon Florida will be the only pace to see a Wild Burmese Python & Rock Python... True story, look it up...
As for the Monkey capture him/her alive & transport it to a Zoo or deep into the Swamps (Everglades) what harm can it do with thousands of acres of wild habitat & being alone at that... No way to breed, but plenty of fruit & stuff to eat. Let it live people, let it live free... This is Amerca...
12 gauge open choke. Close range. Monkeys are nasty varmints and have big teeth. They also eat songbird eggs.
The problem here is that the monkey was aggressive after not being aggressive for several years. That could be an indication of Rabies. They would have to kill the animal to find out if it had Rabies. Without that evidence, the bite victim would have to take a series of very painful and potentially dangerous shots.
Leave the monkey alone....poor thing....and no reason to put him down...he's a wild animal....