Monkeys charge Estero family at Silver Springs State Park

ESTERO, Fla. A group of hissing, grunting rhesus monkeys surrounded a family from Estero last week at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, and one of the children caught it all on camera.

“At that moment, I didn’t really have a sense of danger,” said Thatcher Ramsey, who took the video. “I don’t know why.”

The family was unhurt, but the encounter was harrowing, said Thatcher’s mother, Susie Ramsey.

“We went from saying, ‘Wow, look at the monkeys’ to ‘Oh my God, our lives are in danger,” she said.

The family spotted the monkeys near a covered portion of a boardwalk. At first they seemed placid, but soon chased the family back the other way.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say rhesus monkeys should only be viewed from a distance.