Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
Female vervet monkeys Bella, left, Snow White, center, and Olivia groom each other in the Park ‘N Fly airport lot adjacent to the mangrove preserve where the vervet monkey colony lives, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Dania Beach, Fla. For 70 years, a group of non-native monkeys has made their home next to a South Florida airport, delighting visitors and becoming local celebrities. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) As departing jetliners roared overhead, an aging vervet monkey moped on a mangrove branch one recent afternoon in the woods he inhabits near a South Florida airport, his ego bruised. 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 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 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 (4 meters) away. âDid you have a bad day?â asks Deborah âMissyâ 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. âWe will leave you alone so you can ponder.â The United States has no native monkeys, but the smallish vervets have roamed Dania Beach since the late 1940s after a dozen brought from West Africa fled a now long-closed breeding facility and roadside zoo. Today, 40 descendants are broken into four troops living within 1,500 acres (600 hectares) around the airport. Florida also has a few colonies of escaped macaques and squirrel monkeys. Florida wildlife officials often kill invasive species to protect native animals. But they tolerate the vervets, if they stay put. The monkeys are local celebrities, their travails detailed by TV and newspapers, and popular visitors with nearby workers, who feed them despite signs saying thatâs illegal. âMy friends are like, âYou have monkeys at your job?ââ laughed airport parking lot attendant Harlen Caldera as she gave them raisins and nuts. Some ate from her hand, while others snatched what food she scattered. Travelers are often surprised to see the monkeys. They squeal in delight and grab their cellphones, hoping for photos. Vervets are gray and black with a greenish tinge, helping them blend into the trees. Males typically grow to 2 feet (0.6 meters) and 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms); females reach 18 inches (0.5 meters) and 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms). They live about 20 years. Caldera and her coworkers are protective of the monkeys, which have no fear of humans, making sure no one tries to catch or harm them. âYou never know what people will do,â she said. The entrance to the 16 acres (6.5 hectares) ruled by Mikey, the matriarch, Snow White, and their troop is at the parking lotâs rear, sealed by a locked fence. The mangrove trees are thick and the trail muddy â except where itâs covered in shallow water. Williams began studying monkeys while doing doctoral work at Florida Atlantic University, and stayed on. As she and her guests waded deeper into the monkeysâ grounds one recent afternoon, the 16-member troop approached. The colony lives on spiders, ants, lizards, seeds and flowers â when not scrounging people food. âThey quickly learn to adapt to a human diet â they love sugary things and salty things,â Williams said, noting they tolerate human food remarkably well. In Africa, vervets are eaten by leopards, eagles and snakes. But in Florida the dangers are outside the mangroves â mostly cars and trappers, who sell them as pets. Because of their small population, Williams is concerned inbreeding will harm the monkeysâ health. In Africa, vervet males leave their birth troop when they reach sexual maturity at 5 years and join another. They move again every few years. With only four local troops, there isnât enough rotation among the males, making the genetic pool small. As monkeys are an invasive species, Florida puts tight restrictions on how Williamsâ group can help them. Trapped monkeys canât be released â they must be euthanized or placed into captivity. As Williams doesnât believe monkeys should be pets, she doesnât seek veterinary care for seriously injured and ill monkeys, hoping nature will heal them. But her group is building an enclosure for vervets captured for treatment or because they wandered too far. Ultimately, Williams wants Florida to allow the release of captured vervets. Unlike Burmese pythons, iguanas and other invasive species, she argues, the colony doesnât harm the environment. âThe monkeysâ lives matter regardless if they are nonnative or native,â she said. âAll options should be exhausted to avoid euthanasia.â Her models show that without change, the colony will die off within 50 years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded that while the colony can remain, no exception allowing the monkeysâ release after capture can be made because their effects on the ecosystem are ânot well understood.â âThere is also an inherent risk of injury when handling wildlife. Monkeys can act defensively and may bite or scratch. Mammals, including vervet monkeys, may harbor diseases transmissible to humans including rabies,â the statement said. As darkness neared, the troop moved from the mangroves into the airport parking lot. Itâs dinner time and there are seeds to pluck and workersâ treats to get. Some played while others groomed each other. Spike and Mikey again tussled before Williamsâ admonition separated them. The aging king and his would-be heir then sat feet apart, eyeing each other warily. Soon sated, the monkeys climbed back into their trees to spend another night in their unexpected realm, paying no heed to the loud metallic birds flying above.