St Louis residents report monkeys roaming on city streets | Missouri
Some residents in St. Louis, Missouri, noticed monkeys roaming the streets this week in what felt like the Jumanji movie coming to life.
A handful of monkeys were spotted by residents in North St. Louis on Friday.
“The Department of Health has confirmed that a large number of monkeys are roaming around O’Fallon Park in North City. Original reports suggested there were four animals, but we cannot confirm an actual number at this time, we just know there is more than one,” Justen Hauser, chief of the St Louis health department’s environmental health bureau, told the Guardian.
“We are working to get an idea of where they are hiding or foraging. We work with partner organizations that are appropriately trained and equipped to capture these animals safely. Once captured, the monkeys will be transported to a facility that is certified to care for exotic animals.”
Hauser said NBC local news partner “This is the first time we have encountered a situation involving monkeys in the city of St. Louis.”
It remains unclear where the monkeys came from, but the St. Louis Zoo identified the primates as vervet monkeys.
The vervet is a small, black-faced monkey common in East Africa. African Wildlife Foundation. “There are several subspecies of vervet monkeys, but generally the body is greenish-olive or silvery-gray.”
The organization notes that vervets are often viewed as pests because they steal food and plunder crops when living in human-inhabited areas, leading to significant annual slaughter of the animals.
According to the report, these are also sold for profit in the United States. earth.orgThe film follows the saga of a vervet named Gizmo who was sold after being “taken away from his mother when he was probably a few weeks old.” Gizmo was bred as a pet in the US and was increasingly caged as he became aggressive. It would then slip out of the enclosure and attack an adult. Gizmo’s owner, who is not named in the story, realized the animal should not be kept in a cage and contacted the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary. The monkey was later transported to a sanctuary in South Texas. After the move, the owner traveled to Washington DC and Captive Primate Safety ActIt was implemented in May 2025. This bill would ban the import, export, or sale of “any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species.”
Exotic animals including primates not allowed In St. Louis. Hauser warned residents “not to approach these monkeys or try to capture them.”
“They are very intelligent and social, but can be unpredictable or aggressive under stress. If you spot them, please call 314-657-1500 so we can try to locate them,” he said.
