Florida monkey colony has origins traced

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – We knew where they’ve been living the past several decades.

But until now, no one could quite figure out how a colony of monkeys ended up living in an urban section of South Florida, near an airport and fuel storage tanks.

But now researchers at Florida Atlantic University have pieced together the story.

The South Florida SunSentinel reports there was a monkey escape from a chimpanzee farm in 1948.

Most were recaptured, but some weren’t. Researchers say the fugitive monkeys migrated to a swampy area, where their descendants remain today.

It’s believed there are about 41 members of the colony these days.