Many residents say Mystery Monkey needs to go

ST. PETERSBURG For about two years, the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay has dropped by unannounced at several homes near Lake Maggiore.

He ate handouts, napped on patios, looked through windows. The neighbors and the monkey learned to get along.

But that sentiment changed Monday when the monkey bit a 60-year-old woman.

Now, most residents say, he needs to go.

"I hate to say this, but it was bound to happen," Jeffrey Seilbach said.

Wildlife officials think the biting incident occurred because some neighbors fed the monkey.

"When people choose to feed wildlife in their neighborhood, very often it's the neighbors that end up suffering the consequences," said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Gary Morse.

The monkey resides in an area of tall trees and overgrown bushes near Country Club Way S. When the branches rattle loudly, neighbors know he's there.

He also likes back yards.

At Seilbach's home, the monkey has climbed a tree and broken a screen around the pool. Seilbach won't take his cat outside.

Read more here:
Many residents say Mystery Monkey needs to go