Southwest Georgia Rhesus monkey may have been killed
Georgia wildlife officials have been unable to confirm a report of the primate’s death
By Jim Hendricks
ATLANTA — A Rhesus monkey that was the talk of the area late last summer when it was spotted along a 100-mile corridor from Bainbridge to Plains may have been killed, but state wildlife officials have been unable to confirm the small primate’s fate.
“In early December, the Georgia Deptartment of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division received an unconfirmed report that a monkey may have been killed in the area,” Melissa Cummings, communications and outreach specialist with the DNR Wildlife Resources Division, said Friday in response to an inquiry.
“To this point, our agency has not been able to verify whether it was or not,” she said. “Since that time, no further sightings have been reported.”
Sightings of the animal, which Department of Natural Resources wildlife officials say is a Rhesus macaque, were abundant in August and became scarcer after it was spotted near Plains just before Labor Day weekend. One of the post-Labor Day reports was from Bainbridge, the area where the sightings started.
Some have speculated that the animal, which worked its way north along the Flint River and its tributaries, may have come from the closest known established population of the Rhesus macaque, which is in Silver Springs, Fla. — about 225 miles southeast of Albany.
Wildlife officials have not determined whether there is a connection between that population and the Southwest Georgia primate, which was captured on camera several times and was seen eating from wildlife feeders.
According to the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, Rhesus macaques are found from Afghanistan to India and Thailand to southern China, and have lifespans of 25 years. Males can reach a height of 21 inches and a weight of 17 pounds, with females up to 18.5 inches and 11.8 pounds.
Anyone who spots the primate is asked to immediately report it to DNR. During normal weekday business hours, contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Game Management Office in Albany at (229) 430-4254. On weekends and after 4:30 p.m. weekdays, contact DNR’s State Operations Center at 1 (800) 241-4113.
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