January 1, Florida Tourists Stunned by Wild Monkey Jump

Wyatt’s Take

• Wild monkeys shocked visitors in Florida by jumping into a river.
• The animals, non-native rhesus macaques, have lived in the area since the 1930s.
• Crowds and noise can rarely cause the monkeys to leap together like this.

Folks visiting Silver Springs State Park in Ocala, Florida, got quite a surprise when a bunch of wild monkeys started leaping into the river.

A woman caught it all on video from her kayak, stunned as the animals dove off a nearby cliff one after another.

She described the scene as the monkeys

“put on a show,”

with several jumping so close they nearly splashed her.

“They’re jumping in,”

said TikTok user @fireball_1969.

“Look at them all. These are all monkeys jumping in. It’s raining monkeys.”

One monkey even landed right by her kayak, making her wonder aloud

“What the heck is making them all jump?”

The rhesus macaques have called Silver Springs home for almost a century, brought in for a tourist attraction and now thriving in the wild.

Experts say they’re great swimmers and will sometimes cross water to avoid people or find food, but big group plunges like this don’t happen often unless there’s a commotion.

If these wild scenes caught you off guard, you’re not alone.

There’s always something new in America’s backyard.

Wyatt Matters

This monkey mayhem reminds us that even in our own country, nature can still surprise and unite us.

Simple wonders and real moments are what keep small-town values strong.

See the original story here