Another monkey sighting reported on north end of island

Monkey

The second report of monkeys on the island has come into the Beacon newsroom, and by one of the paper’s own employees.

Tracy Bowe, who delivers the Boca Beacon around the area, was working at her friend’s residence on Loomis Avenue on Tuesday, Sept. 27. She was enjoying the day, doing some yard work, when a chattering sound drew her attention.

“I looked up and he came out and started making monkey noises at me,” Tracy said. “I dropped my stuff and went and got my friend, Grace. She heard it, and was trying to get her camera. I didn’t have one either. It hung around for a little while, in the trees.”
Tracy described it as an “organ grinder monkey.” Many of the monkeys employed in that manner were cinnamon-ringtails, or capuchins. Some people keep them as pets.

The week prior to Tracy’s monkey siting, a family on the bike path near Gill’s Grocery saw a group of monkeys. One witness said there were several of them, and one stayed around for more than a minute, long enough to confirm their species.

Tracy said she just wasn’t prepared to see a monkey in her friend’s yard.

“He came up to me and made the noises, and he scared me more than I scared him,” she said. “My friend went to get the camera, but he was gone before she came back down.”