Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 24th, 2012
Twenty
seven squirrel monkeys lived on an island at the Florida Monkey Sanctuary in
Venice, Florida. They had no interest in swimming to freedom. There was no land
close enough on the other side of the encircling moat that offered a chance to
leap to. They were content on their island oasis.
My
parents ran the sanctuary and we lived on the property when we were kids. One
night while my siblings and I slept, our dogs made an awful racket. My mother
asked my father to find out what was happening. He listened to the screams from
the porch and stepped no further from them. One by one, the dogs returned,
limping and bloodied. In the morning, my father investigated. All 27 monkeys
were dead. He traced cat tracks the size of his hands; one adult and two
kittens and determined that an endangered
Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryii)
swam across the moat with her young and hunted each and every one. Oddly,
she ate none. My father’s theory was that she was teaching her kittens to hunt
and quite effectively at that.
The
Florida Panther is considered one of the most endangered animals on the planet.
Technically they are a subspecies of the Mountain Lion, aka Puma, Cougar,
Painter, Swamp Screamer and Catamount (mascot of my Alma mater – the University
of Vermont – Go Cats Go!). The panthers are the last breeding population of the
cats east of the Mississippi. They once ranged from Alaska, south to Tierra del
Fuego in South America. In the United States they are restricted to the western
states with the exception of 120-160 panthers that roam from the Caloosahatchee
south to the Everglades.
 |
| Florida Panther © Pete Corradino |
Florida
Panthers are slightly smaller than the Mountain Lions out west. Adult males
weigh in at 165 lbs, compared to western cats that top off at 260 lbs. Panthers
measure over seven feet in length from nose to the tip of tail.
There
are many sightings of panthers with descriptions of spotted cats or black cats
that I chalk up to wishful thinking. Typically these are Bobcats (Lynx rufus) or a
trick of the eye. Bobcats are a third of the size and are spotted with a six
inch tailed compare to a three foot tail. The notion of a black panther may
come from the black leopards from the Tarzan movies, the political group, their
appearance at dusk or melanistic bobcats that have been sighted in Florida. The
panther is golden brown with fur similar in color to their food, the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
I was
born and raised here and have yet to see a panther. I’ll keep looking and keep
up my wishful thinking.
The one building remaining is "the monkey building" where monkey chow and other supplies were kept.
Tiffany, our mother and a monkey - November 1972
What remains of the cage 35 years later.
Bopper the Java Macaque posing on the edge of the pool in 1975
Abigail posing at the edge of the pool in 2009.
Jungle Pete in 1983 after the completion of the bridge to "the island". The bridge was built by my father, Zak Kelly and myself. The island seemed massive and we would spend hours exploring it as kids.
The bridge remains, with railings, but Abigail discovered that one person at a time is possibly one too many. Walking around it might make sense. Most of the vegetation has been removed and the island looks much smaller. 
My father once joked that when archaeologists discover this site in the future they'll theorize that an ancient race of tiny people lived and thrived here. In fact, the ground beneath my feet today was the site of my childhood home and the Florida Monkey Sanctuary until 1988. Many monkeys found refuge here. More were born here and some were buried here. When my mother sold the property 20 years ago, many of the monkey cages were torn down. I returned in 1993 to see what had become of the place. An older man had moved in with his even older mother and I was content to know that the land was well taken care of. Flash forward to 12/27/2008 and today's visit. The house has been torn down and burned due to termites. The owner long since gone. The land is now used as a horse ranch. 
The neighbor's yard is less than welcoming. I don't test the dog or my speed. But we have permission to walk our old property. Beautiful old oaks cast their branches out over sandy soil. Margaret, a Clydesdale and my first horse (and the first word I ever spoke - 
What appears as a ditch is a dried up moat that encircled two islands. Peter's Island (named for my grandfather) was inhabited by squirrel monkeys in the 70's until a Florida Panther swam across and taught her kittens how to hunt. 
The bridge was built by my dad and me when I was 13. The next owner built the handrails, but our bridge to nowhere actually went somewhere. As a kid the island was completely forested and seemed to be a dense impenetrable jungle that I would always try to explore.
Spread across the 10 acres were several corn cribs that functioned as housing for several hundred primates over the course of 20 years. On past explorations I had discovered little remains of the Sanctuary but I forged further into the "creepy" corner of the property and found three round concrete slabs that once were the foundations for the corn cribs. A shallow pool remains. My sister Tiffany called it creepy and I think she was referring to the NW corner. The NE corner was always creepy to me and I would run as fast as I could - from what I don't know.
As I explored further I instantly recognized the distinct aqua blue color of the swimming pool that once belonged to a troop of Weeper 
On rare occasions I would have the good fortune of hosing out the cages. The pool was always the toughest to clean. It was a task normally relegated to my mother or father. I must confess that while hosing the cages, certain monkeys would come down and shake the cage. I don't know if they were tainting me or playing, but I would spray them. They looked peeved but they always returned. I tell myself they were having fun. 
An orange tree grows at the edge of a concrete slab. No doubt the consequence of a discarded seed or two. The monkeys and apes were fed Monkey Chow as well as grapes, apples and oranges that my family prepared for them. (Marshmallows were always a vice of several sugar-loving simians). 
Today the ancient ruins from the 70's are lightly covered by tropical vegetation. Water pipes remain buried beneath leaves and soil. Bones of long past primates rest just beneath the surface. To the casual observer, all of these subtle clues might be dismissed. To me, they are my 
Surely they would not recognize me after 20 years right? Maddie was younger than Gertie and was not raised in the house. I would never expect her to recognize me. She didn't get carried around to baseball games and out to restaurants. She didn't go to New York in the summer time with the family like Gert. Add the fact that Maddie now has testicles - I'm sure that this monkey had no idea who I was. Somewhere along the way, monkeys got switched. 
I called to Gertie and she came right over. Maybe she wants attention? Maybe this is part of her show?
The zoo keeper found it interesting and suggested the two spiders are usually shy. I'm not sure I wanted Gert to recognize me because I would have to leave her. As well intentioned as some of the zoos may be, its certainly not an idyllic life for these animals. We left and made arrangements to call the zoo director to see what I could do to help make a better life for the two spiders. Apparently Gert gets quite upset when she is separated from her new Maddie.
Gertie is seen above - swaddled in the pink and white crocheted blanket - playing the role of the baby Jesus. (circa 1983?) Gertie was brought to a new sanctuary in 2008 after suffering was a skin problem (seen below) at her home in North Carolina. I'm told she's doing much better.
Then its up to Tennessee for a few days of hiking, waterfalls, train rides and cave exploration.
People are boarding up their homes and burrowing in like clams in advance of the storm. (See I was going somewhere with that title. It's not just another misspelling.)
