The Dania Beach
vERVET MONKEYS
The Dania Beach Vervet Project was started by Dr. Missy Williams in 2016 to promote protection, education, and awareness about the Dania Beach monkeys. A multi-pronged approach is used to create and set goals for the project. First, the site provides a great opportunity for college students to study a free ranging monkey population right here in the United States. Overseas research is expensive and not all students have the ability or luxury to travel abroad. Noninvasive research is crucial to provide data to help us better understand this under studied monkey population. Second, the project provides community education about primates, hazards of exotic pet ownership, urban wildlife, and the mangrove ecosystem. We provide educational talks and visit various local businesses to provide information about the monkeys and how to mitigate urban wildlife issues. Last, yet most importantly, the monkeys need a voice. The monkeys are afforded little humane options due to their nonnative status. Dr. Williams wants to change that by establishing a sanctuary where the monkeys can live in a protected setting with access to veterinary care, proper nutrition, and minimal human interaction.
The Dania Beach vervet monkeys escaped from the Dania Chimpanzee Farm in the late 1940’s. The Dania Chimpanzee Farm imported primates from Africa for biomedical use. The Dania Chimpanzee Farm was open to public to generate funds to cover the expenses of carrying for exotic animals. Approximately 12-15 vervet monkeys escaped from an aviary type enclosure. The monkeys you see today descend from that group of escapees. The Chimp Farm was located just north of the Dania Beach Cut-off Canal. It closed in 1957 when Florida Power and Light bought the land.
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Although the monkeys are introduced, they certainly are not invasive. Invasive is a term that is used to describe exotic plant or animal species that pushes out native species, spreads and grows quickly, causes economic damage, impacts local ecosystems, and creates human health concerns. The monkeys in Dania Beach do not meet any of these criteria. Therefore, lethal management protocols are not appropriate. However, the population should be managed in a way that allows the monkeys to live in setting where the population is monitored. A sanctuary environment would provide many benefits to the community and the monkeys. A fenced in area would allow the monkeys to roam freely in a space that was large enough so that the monkeys would not know they are confined. A sanctuary would: 1) prevent the daily human-monkey interactions (health and safety risk for people and monkeys), 2) remove the hazard of being illegally trapped for the pet trade, and 3) remove potential injury from traffic, power lines, and people. There is limited veterinary care available due to their nonnative status. Most injured monkeys must endure painful, sometimes drawn-out fatal injuries without human intervention. If a monkey is treated for an injury, he or she may not be released back to the wild. The monkey is placed with a permitted facility which typically provides basic captive care and exploits the monkey for use in the pet trade. This is no life for a monkey born in the wild. Our project is crucial to provide compassionate management in a sanctuary setting that allows the monkeys to live happy and healthy lives.
Dr. Missy Williams and Aaron Mencia head up the Vervet Monkey Project.
Deborah (Missy) Williams received her Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Florida Atlantic University in 2019. She studied the introduced vervet monkey population in Dania Beach, Florida for her dissertation research. Missy started the Dania Beach Vervet Project in 2016 during her research when she realized the monkey population lacked any welfare or conservation efforts. Her research interests include urban ecology, wildlife conservation, and human-wildlife conflict. She believes in compassionate conservation and incorporates this approach into her research. Missy teaches various science courses at Lynn University and Five Towns College. When Missy is not at the monkey site or teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family and fur kids.
Aaron graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and has about 10 years of experience working with primates in various settings. He helps manage the site which includes a 40-minute drive from Miami to come collect data on the monkeys this includes: group counts, pathology, and trail camera footage. When he is not in the field, he is cleaning data on a computer. He has been with the project since September 2020.
How can you help the monkeys?
Be a monkey ambassador. Spread the word about our project. Follow us on social media. Remind people not to feed the monkeys as it can lead to harmful outcomes. Monkeys will travel to busy areas to look for food from people, which can cause them to be hit by cars, electrocuted, or trapped. Sadly, these events happen too often. We can provide a happy and safe environment with your help.
We appreciate the support we continue to receive from the community. Please donate to us using the provided QR codes for PayPal and Venmo. You can also donate directly through our web page at www.vervetproject.org or Facebook page. Your donations will be used to maintain land lease, purchase site supplies, and save for our future sanctuary which the monkeys desperately need.
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