story transcript

Brian Pritchard was hoping to catch some pictures of deer feeding from his new feeder, but instead he snapped a troop of wild Rhesus monkeys feasting on the food.

When Pritchard bought his property in Ocala, Fla., six months ago beside Silver Springs State Park he knew that seeing the occasional monkey sighting was possible. He didn't expect for upwards of 50 monkeys to eat 115 kilograms of deer feed in just a few days.

'I'm not going to let a bunch of monkeys make me move.' - Brian Pritchard

Brian Pritchard spoke with As It Happens guest host Laura Lynch about his monkey problem, and how he caught the crime on camera. Here is part of their conversation.

LL: What happened when you went to check on your deer feeder last week?

BP: I went to check on the deer feeder, and pulled my deer cam off, my game cam, to check the pictures and realized that I had 1,100 pictures of monkeys.

LL: 1,100 pictures of monkeys. Can you describe some of the photos?

BP: They were just on the deer feeder, feeding, climbing all over it. There were a bunch of them. There was upwards 50 in there at one time.

A photo that was captured on Brian Pritchard camera of rhesus monkeys stealing the food from his deer feeder. (Brian Pritchard )

LL: Did they look like they were having a good time?



BP: Well absolutely. When you got that much feed in your face anybody would have a good time.

LL: So 1,100 photos, how many monkeys have you seen?

BP: That was over a three-day span. I mean there was 40 to 50 every time but you know these pictures are taking, you know there's a time span of like a two-minute delay in between each picture snapped. So for three days it took pictures morning and evening.

LL: And no deer I take it?

BP: None, no deer. They've officially scared my deer away.

I mean, there's not many people that can say they got a whole herd of monkeys in their backyard. - Brian Pritchard

LL: You knew when you moved there that there were going to be monkeys. You're not just seeing them on the camera, are you? You can see them when you look outside?

BP: No, I've seen them one time in person. They're actually very skittish. The ones that are at the park, which is down the road, you know they're used to seeing people.

The ones at my place, they see any kind of movement, they leave. They head for the hills. My wife bought me a deer feeder for Father's Day, because I've got a bunch of deer and the kids love watching the deer out there. So I put the deer feeder up, filled it all up, got it set, put a camera on it and within 12 hours I had 50 head of monkeys on it.

LL: What was your reaction when you saw all the pictures of monkeys and no deer?

Brian Pritchard was excited to see deer in his Florida backyard, but instead he found monkeys were stealing the deer food. ( Brian Pritchard )

BP: I was a little stunned at first just by seeing that many at one time. I mean I'm used to 'em. I was born and raised here and I've seen them a thousand times, you know, at the parks and down the river. You can go down the river and see them any given day.

So you know it's not really a huge deal, and I had a feeling I'd probably get a couple pictures but never expected to get pictures of that many. But at the same time it was kind of a neat experience in my book. I mean there's not many people that can say they got a whole herd of monkeys in their backyard.

LL: That's very kind of you considering how much food they ate.

BP: You you, know it's not their fault. Like I told everyone else, they were there to eat. Free food's, free food. Anybody's going to eat free food. I'm not blaming them at all. They tore my feeder up and emptied it. They emptied 250 pounds of feed out of it. But you know life goes on. It's not a murder charge in my book.

LL: These are actually rhesus monkeys. What do you know about them?

BP: They can be vicious. They're very temperamental in my book. I mean I've had them jump in my boat going down the river. Obviously that's the ones that get fed all the time. But in my books they're disgusting. They're absolutely nasty. They carry a herpes B virus, I'm sure there's a few other things they carry. I keep my distance.

LL: You must be tempted to try to get rid of them?

The herpes b virus is often found in rhesus monkeys. (California National Primate Research Center, Kathy West/The Associated Press)

BP: I will if I have to. Until they cross that line, I'm not really concerned about 'em honestly. My wife is, but I'm an avid outdoorsman. I mean I hunt and fish for a living. I run all over. So, yes, I can control them if I have to.

LL: You would kill them?

BP: If I have to. I mean, if some kind of incident happened or, you know, a monkey attack or they get out of control, absolutely I would.

LL: Why don't you just move?

BP: Well, why should I move?

LL: Because you've got a bunch of monkeys in your backyard?

BP: Hey, if someone wants to come buy my land, I'll move. I'm not going to let a bunch of monkeys make me move.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Brian Pritchard.