PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A local deer hunter got quite the surprise when he saw a monkey on his camera.
The man who took the picture says the monkey was spotted in Putnam County.
Once confined to a Florida state park, Rhesus macaques have been spotted in the wild and the virus many of them spread is often deadly for people.
There may be as many as 400 of these monkeys in Florida. No longer simply the tourist attraction they once were in Silver Springs State Park, it's also estimated that as many as 30 percent of them carry the Herpes B virus.
In humans, it causes a devastating brain disease that is deadly about 70 percent of the time if left untreated. They spread the virus through saliva and other bodily fluids.
"I'm not too frightened, there's enough animals in this community that have rabies, some wild animals. You just gotta be smart," mother TriciaRae Stancato said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a statement that reads in part: "Without management action, the presence and continued expansion of non-native Rhesus macaques in Florida can result in serious human health and safety risks including human injury and transmission of disease."
Biologists say if you spot one of these monkeys, the best way to protect yourself is to stay away.