Playful Vervets Delight Public At Large Near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Miami FL

31 March, 2022

11:38 AM

Description

CBS Miami March 31, 2022 Meanwhile, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, as departing jetliners roared overhead, an aging vervet monkey moped on a mangrove branch one recent afternoon in the woods near Broward's airport. Mikey, as he is called by his human observers, has long been the laid-back alpha male of a troop of monkeys ruling this tract of land, tucked off a busy runway. But this day he lost when challenged by a feisty youngster called Spike. Mikey fled screaming and was now sullenly staring at humans watching him from 15 feet away. "Did you have a bad day?" asks Deborah "Missy" Williams, a Lynn University science professor who has been studying the troop and others nearby since 2014. She is also founder of the Dania Beach Vervet Project, which seeks to preserve this unique colony. "We will leave you alone so you can ponder." CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.