Karl Etters

Democrat staff writer

CARRABELLE- A clump of bananas hung on a fence near the end of the main road along Alligator Point as the sun rose on Jan. 1 — the first day of 2016, the year of the monkey.

The bananas were partly the hijinks of over-boozed New Year's Eve revelers and a half-hearted attempt to bait the rhesus macaque monkey, or monkeys, that have been spotted along the narrow peninsula and in a dozen other spots along Florida's Franklin County coast over the past two months.

Linda and Paul Cowan didn’t have to go far to find a monkey. On several occasions they've seen one roaming into their backyard from a brush patch wedged between homes along the Carrabelle River.

The first time they saw it sitting on their deck, their voices sent it fleeing. On another visit, Linda snapped a photo of a monkey hanging from an oak branch, pilfering a bird feeder.

“It was just so cool to see him hanging down,” said Linda, who believes there is more than one monkey in the area. “It is funny. It’s really funny.”

A similar monkey was spotted just a block away, Linda said. They have become a point of conversation among vacationers and neighbors and sightings recently are not uncommon.

Franklin County sightings have been reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 14 times from Bald Point west to Carrabelle, a nearly 30-mile swath along Apalachee Bay, since early December.

FWC believes they are rhesus macaque monkeys, which are native to Asia but are also maintaining a foothold in parts of Central Florida where there has been a colony in Silver Springs State Park since the 1930s..

Five local reports come from Carrabelle, three in Panacea, two on Alligator Point and one each in St. Teresa Beach, Lanark Village and Sopchoppy, with the most recent Monday in Carrabelle.

Carrabelle Police came to the Cowan’s home and set a trap last week since the most recent sighting at their waterfront home. They’ve used bird feed, apples and bananas without luck in catching “Spanky.”

“I don’t think any self-respecting monkey would step into that trap,” Paul joked. “I don’t think we’re going to see him anymore after they put that trap out. We haven’t seen him in four days.”

While FWC is not certain if there is one monkey or a troop, Panacea and Carrabelle are about 30 miles apart. The origin of the monkey or monkeys is still being researched as an on-site FWC team searches for the elusive primate. They are also asking people to continue to call in sightings.

There are no permitted holders in the region and no macaques have been reported missing statewide.

A few monkeys may not cause that much of a disruption in the coastal ecosystem, but if the problem grows, they could compete for food with native animals, said Mike Jones, Tallahassee Museum’s animal curator. They typically eat grasses, fruit and the occasional meat. In areas of human habitation, they could also forage on garbage and crops.

Jones said the range the monkeys are being reported in may point to more than one in the area.

“That would be some far traveling to get 28 miles in the same day,” said Jones, who suggested macaques may have escaped from someone illegally harboring one.

The subtropical climate of Florida doesn’t normally extend into the Panhandle, which usually gets its share of cold weather in winter.

Frigid temperatures would make it hard for the primates to winter, but a lasting warm spell could allow them to thrive, Jones said.

Monkeys can carry the disease herpes B, however no incidents of the disease being transmitted to humans has ever been reported in Florida. Still, FWC is asking people not to approach, feed or capture a monkey if they see one in Franklin County.

They can be dangerous, sometimes aggressive, Jones said.

“They could do serious damage to a person if someone grabbed a hold of one,” he said. “From one half-grown to an adult. They’re pretty tough little customers.”

The Cowans are not worried about their new neighbor. So far, he's only provided photos and interesting conversation.

"I think he’s cute, Paul said. I mean, what else are you going to say about a monkey?"

If a monkey is seen, call FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1 888-404-3922.

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.