Rhesus Monkeys Leap from Trees into River

occurred on December 7, 2020 / Ocala, Florida, USA

Info from Licensor: "While kayaking on the Silver River in Ocala, Florida, I came upon a scene of rhesus monkeys diving from trees into the river. This was the 2nd time I had seen and taken video of the same activity, the first time being on October 29, 2019. What I witnessed was evidently a migration across the river, organized and forced by the larger male monkeys. It was evident from my first video in 2019, and confirmed by the series of videos taken over a 35-40 minute period of time in 2020, that the male monkeys herded the females, adolescents, and babies, up the trees and out on the limbs above the water, then barked, growled, and jumped up and down until all the monkeys dove in and swam across. After all the others dove in, the remaining males dove in and followed. I was able to capture 32 monkeys out of a total of at least 40 in the colony diving and swimming that morning."