Strange Monkey

St. Petersburg, Florida lives up to its saying, Be Prepared to Be Pleasantly Surprised, most of the time. But for the last 2 years a rogue rhesus macaque, believed to be a loner that was run off from the rest of his colony in Silver Springs, has been on the loose. He has been sighted and photographed many times just monkeying around but has to date continued to elude capture. The elusive primate has his own Face Book page and following. Up until recently he has been a peaceful, albeit mysterious resident of the Tampa Bay area, finding an occasional banana a-peeling while giving would be captors the slip. Recently one St. Pete resident received an unpleasant surprise; she was bitten not once but twice by the rogue rhesus and now some are saying this was just what they predicted would happen and is often a result when a wild monkey (some say with a chimp on his shoulder) is being fed by trusting humans. Face Book friends are hopeful that the monkey can be captured safely and have found another trapper who plans to lure the rogue with another rhesus macaque and some fresh fruit. He says he has had success trapping chickens and roosters this way. I just hope they can find a peaceful solution and end this strange monkey business before I go back to St. Pete to visit my grandsons. Between you and me, I've entertained speculation that Jude and Shane might be part monkey too….on their fathers’ sides!