Monkey Island Keys

[Lauro Pericles]

LoisKey and nearby Racoon Key are owned by Charles River Laboratories, the world's biggest producer of lab animals. For decades, the company raised rhesus monkeys on the islands and allowed them to range free on Lois Key.

"They ate the trees, they ate the coastal mangroves and actually killed the trees," said Ed Davidson of the Florida Audubon Society. "The shoreline eroded, and the monkey droppings wash out into the public waters. This is really a mess."

Charles River Laboratories is a subsidiary of the optical giant Bausch and Lomb. It sells the monkeys raised on the keys to researchers studying AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and other afflictions. The animals cost up to $4,000 each.

After years of lawsuits, a judge finally has ordered all free-roaming monkeys off the island within the next couple of years. Charles River has also agreed to remove all caged animals from the keys by early next century and turn the land over to the state of Florida.

Indeed, both islands are inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 2,800 square miles of bays, reefs and islands that are supposed to be protected. While Charles River owned the islands, the shoreline where red mangroves grew remained state property.

"I own the land that I live on here, and yet I am not allowed to cut or trim the mangroves," said island resident Michael Vaughn. "That's public land out there, and a private corporation, for the sake of making money, is able to destroy the fringe mangroves that none of the rest of us that own them can touch."

Although they receive daily meals of "monkey chow," two large colonies of Rhesus monkeys couldn't resist the tasty leaves of protected mangrove trees. Since the 1980s, they have devoured 40 acres of mangroves and are fouling tidal waters with their droppings.

The monkeys have been roaming two uninhabited islands since 1973. They were brought from India by Charles River Laboratories of Wilmington, Mass., so that the young could be trapped and sold for medical research.

Local environmentalists have been fighting for years to have the monkeys shipped to a less environmentally sensitive site. But their efforts were unsuccessful until recently, when a judge ordered Charles River, the world's largest lab-animal production company, to relocate all the free-roaming monkeys within the next two years.

Curtis Kruer, a Keys biologist, has spearheaded the monkey-removal effort since 1981. He says he won't be satisfied until environmental restoration work begins. "I'm not interested in winning court cases. I'm interested in seeing the operation relocated out of the Keys," he says. "I'm interested in seeing these islands restored."

BILL ROBERTS, a lawyer for the company, says Charles River recognizes the environmental problems the monkeys have caused. He says the company has tried for several years to obtain permits to build cages for the free-roaming monkeys, but those permits have been denied.

Mr. Roberts says the company is considering sending the monkeys to a breeding facility operated by the University of Miami on the Florida mainland. He says eventually the company will fully restore the islands and donate them to the state of Florida and the federal government as monkey-free wildlife sanctuaries.

The two islands owned by Charles River are Key Lois and Raccoon Key. They are about 25 miles northeast of Key West. Key Lois, with 75 free-roaming monkeys, is on the Caribbean side of the Keys. Raccoon Key, with 880 wandering monkeys, is on the Gulf side in the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge.

Overhead costs of running monkey-breeding colonies are lower on the islands than they would be at indoor caged facilities elsewhere. And because of their isolation and pure upbringing, the monkeys are considered among the best available for research.

Although Charles River owns the islands, it does not own the shoreline where the mangrove grows. In addition, because the keys are protected wetlands, the company must abide by strict environmental regulations in what it builds and how it uses the land.

Roberts says Charles River did all it could to prevent mangrove destruction. The company built an electrified fence, but the monkeys simply waded into the water and swam around the ends, or waited until the fence short-circuited.

Despite conservationists' fears, the monkeys haven't been a threat to all endangered species in the Keys. According to Roberts, the endangered silver rice rat is thriving on Raccoon Island. The silvery rodent, it seems, likes monkey chow at least as much as the monkeys like mangrove leaves.

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In 2022, the Lowman family purchased the Homosassa Riverside Resort and began extensive renovations. They worked with the Hensley family to rebrand the property as the Florida Cracker Riverside Resort and embarked on a huge upgrade for the monkeys of Monkey Island Florida.

Included in the Homosassa Springs attraction was a group of monkeys who were brought to America by Dr. John N. Hamlet. Dr. Hamlet was a naturalist who had worked at Weeki Wachee Springs attraction before working for Furgy at his wildlife attraction. He had originally captured those monkeys for use in perfecting the polio vaccine in America.

The original inhabitants of Monkey Island Florida included three spider monkeys and two squirrel monkeys. Huts were constructed for them, and palm trees were planted. The monkeys continued to cause problems by eating the palm hearts and killing the trees. Fortunately, cedar trees volunteered and continue to prosper.

Ralph is the alpha male, Sassy is the matriarch. Ebony is the daughter of Ralph and Sassy. These three monkeys are part of the original group placed on Monkey Island by Furgy. The two original squirrel monkeys, Tiny and Tim, lived for many happy years on Monkey Island before passing away from old age in 2003 and 2005. Eve and Emily were adopted and put on the island in 2006.

The monkeys have been under the care of the Homosassa Riverside Resort. They are fed twice a day from a menu designed specifically for them, including green leafy vegetables, bananas, oranges, sweet potatoes, raw peanuts, and monkey chow. They are also regularly examined by a qualified primate veterinarian.

In the early 1900s, tourists came to Homosassa Springs to see the beautiful springs. The train would let them off near Fishbowl Drive and they would take a short walk to see the crystal-clear water of the first-magnitude Homosassa main spring, with its resident saltwater and freshwater fish.

Ivan Tors Animal Actors housed their trained animals at Homosassa Springs Attraction for several years. These animals were trained for television shows and movies. When they were not performing, they were kept at the Homosassa Springs attraction. One of the most popular of these animals was Buck who was a stand-in for Gentle Ben in the famous television series.

From 1978 until 1984, the land went through several changes in ownership. The Citrus County Commission purchased the attraction in the mid-1980s to protect it as an environmentally sensitive area and operated it for visitors until the state of Florida could purchase the property as a Florida State Park.

Finding the 5 keys to the safe is the main task of part 4 of Return to Monkey Island game. From our walkthrough you will learn how to start the search for the golden keys, how to get the map of the archipelago and how to cross the Parallel.

This page of the guide focuses on the most important objective of Chapter 4 of Return to Monkey Island - obtaining 5 golden keys to unlock the safe containing the secret of Monkey Island. Our guide will help with locating the safe and how to learn about the need for keys, how to get the map of the sea and how to use it properly, how to avoid the blockade at the Parallel and how correctly put the obtained golden keys to use.

Chapter 4 of the game begins with your return to Melee Island onboard the ship you've rebuilt on Monkey Island. In the meantime, the entire archipelago fell victim to an earthquake and there are a number of notable changes to the island ( among others, a new store appears), which you'll learn about in due time.

The first task is to return to the Voodoo Shop , which is located on Low Street - you have to go right, passing the destroyed Scumm Bar by on your way. Enter the shop and talk to the voodoo priestess .

You learn that the secret is hidden in a safe in the voodoo shop on Melee Island . Opening it requires 5 Golden Keys . Getting the golden keys is the most complex task in the game. In order to obtain each of the keys, you will need to visit a number of locations and complete various puzzles. The walkthroughs for indiviudal keys can be found on separate pages of the walkthrough :

After leaving the voodoo store, you'll be accosted by Widey Bones, an old lady who as it turns out, has one of the golden keys (she won't part with it for now) and you can ask her about the owners of the keys and approximate locations where you can find them

To be able to travel freely across the archipelago, you need a map of the sea . To get it, pay a visit toWally's Maps-n-More . As a reminder, the cartographer can be found opposite the voodoo shop on Melee Island's Low Street. Ask Wally for the Map of the Sea and you will get it for free.

8) LeChuck's Ship - LeChuck's Ship will appear on the world map only after you have advanced enough in the chapter. Guybrush can explore it without restrictions this time, i.e. he won't be thrown out by undead pirates.

During the search for Bella Fisher's Golden Key, an X symbol will also appear on the map of the archipelago, symbolizing the shipwreck , but first, you need to solve the puzzle to learn of this location (randomized).

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