Mystery Monkey Caught on Video in Business Park

The security video is grainy, but it clearly captures video of a monkey startling a racoon on the dumpster at Lakewood Business Park.

It's also clear that the monkey — likely a Capuchin — seems comfortable in its environs as it jumps from the dumpster to a trailer parked in the back of the parking lot.

Linda Lamp discovered the images after someone filled the dumpster at the 32nd Street West business park with construction debris.

Lamp wanted to catch the culprits, but instead was startled by a monkey caught on video. At first she took a double take. Did she really just see a monkey leap across the screen? Then she triple checked it. Sure enough, she did.

She was still in shock Monday afternoon.

First she wrote to the owners of the business park.

"We have a monkey in the business park," she wrote.

The reply: "I don't believe you."

Lamp wrote back: "I don't believe it and I have the video."

"I want to see it," one of the owners replied.

And while Lamp was still reeling from having a monkey in her park and maybe even living in the building, Lamp said it explains a lot of mysterious happenings around the park for the past six months.

She's found empty pop tart wrappers in the breezeway at the business park, peanut shells, too. Other odd wrappers have shown up and things have been moved around he park.

Linda Craig, executive director for Manatee Operation Troop Support, thought the park might have a ghost until she heard about the monkey. She believes her organization is to blame for the monkey's pop tart habit. She's also noticed that a certain kind of cracker has also been eaten and the wrappers discarded.

The snacks are meant for the troops serving overseas, but if something is too old it goes into the dumpster. She also suspects the monkey may be squeezing through the mail slot in the door to get to the crackers inside the office.

And while a few mysteries at the business park may have been solved, there's still one big mystery out there. Where did the monkey come from?

If it's a Capuchin, they are native to Central and South America. While these tiny monkeys, with cream-colored faces, are often bought and sold as pets, no one has reported a missing monkey with the authorities.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Manatee County Animal Services and the regional office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have not received any calls about a missing monkey.

Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said the agency likely will have an investigator go by and check things out.

Lamp, who rescues tropical birds and is an animal advocate, said that the monkey isn't doing any harm where he is and she sees no reason to try to capture it.

But Morse said Florida is dealing with so many invasive and non-native species that it costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. While one monkey seems innocent enough,  if there is another one out there and they get together, soon enough they could establish a colony.

If the little creature is a Capuchin, they are known as forest dwellers that live on leaves, insects and small birds, though this monkey seems to have developed a taste for processed foods for people.

The monkey seems to be eating well and with two ponds on the property and another on adjacent land, it has plenty of water and, of course, food. Lamp is even willing to put out Monkey Chow to supplement the primate's diet.

Lamp once had to call out animal services to help rescue a duck stuck in the soffit at the business park, which she describes as animal friendly. The business owners there even leave out peanuts for the squirrels — something the monkey apparently benefits from.

Lamp said that she believes the little creatures should be left alone. Her fear is that if the authorities catch the monkey, they might decide to put it down.

Morse said the FWC would not put the animal down, but rather take it to a facility to make see if it is healthy and then place it with a licensed owner or facility in the area.

"There's no reason to trap him, he's not accosting anyone," Lamp said. "Just because he's showing a bad address is no reason to trap him."

A little monkey mischief hasn't really bothered anyone at the business park either.