Monkeys that started zoo saga recaptured

MONKEYS THAT STARTED IT ALL CAUGHT

TAMPA — Eight months ago, the Lex Salisbury controversy began with a case of missing monkeys. And now, the same week Salisbury resigned under pressure as head of Lowry Park Zoo, the last of those monkeys has been found. In April, 15 patas monkeys somehow got off a 1-acre island and made it across a wide moat, escaping from Salisbury's private Safari Wild park in Polk County. This quirky incident brought attention to Salisbury's dual roles, running a public zoo and planning to open a private one. Most of the monkeys were captured earlier, but the last five were found this week in the vicinity of Safari Wild, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. One of the monkeys had been shot and killed, Morse said. He did not have further details. But he said shooting the monkey did not necessarily violate Florida law, because the monkeys are non-native animals without specific protection as an endangered species. The other four were returned to Safari Wild.

Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer