The monkeys were brought to Silver Springs State Park by Colonel Tooey in the 1930s. Tooey owned a river-cruise tourist attraction and thought the monkeys would be a defining trait of the ride. However, after purchasing the monkeys from a wildlife dealer out of New York and placing them on an island at Devil's Elbow on the Silver River, they promptly swam across the water and thrived in nearby woods, a state historical timeline shows.