Monkey Jungle, Miami, FL 2009

Monkey Jungle is a zoological park dedicated to the conservation of primates. Inside Monkey Jungle, humans walk through a fenced in tunnel, while the monkeys run freely around you. Monkey Jungle has many species including Crab-eating Macaques, Spider Monkeys, Gibbons, Tamarins, and even an Orangutan.  You can purchase boxes of raisins to feed the monkeys. The raisins are placed in metal tins that the monkeys and can raise and lower from outside the cages when they please. The experience offers an anti-zoo encounter with primates.

Crab-eating Macaque eating raisins. The Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is a primarily arboreal macaque native to Southeast Asia. It is also called the Cynomolgus Monkey, Philippine Monkey and the Long-tailed Macaque.  The crab-eating Macaques typically don’t consume crabs, rather they are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they eat a variety of animals, plants, and other materials. Although fruits and seeds make up 60 - 90% of the dietary intake, they also eat leaves, flowers, roots and bark, and also prey on vertebrates (including bird chicks and nesting female birds, lizards, frogs, fish), invertebrates, and bird eggs.