“… according to local legend, rhesus monkeys had been brought to the area to enliven the set of the movie Tarzan Finds a Son!, which was filmed at Silver Springs in March 1939. As it happens, the monkeys didn’t make it into the movie … but they reportedly watched the filming and would screech with excitement whenever Johnny Weissmuller would dive into the water. In fact … the monkeys had been brought to Silver Springs somewhat earlier by an entrepreneur named Colonel Tooey, who operated a Jungle Cruise boat ride. He built up an island in the shallow Silver River and planned to put monkeys there at some point in 1938, with the idea of boosting his revenue. However, Colonel Tooey apparently thought he was getting a shipment of (non-swimming) squirrel monkeys. Instead, he got six rhesus monkeys … Supposedly, Colonel Tooey later brought in a few more monkeys, but for the most part, nature simply took her course: the monkeys multiplied and divided. A couple of troops total stuck around the banks of the Silver River near the Silver Springs, to the west of the original release site. They were regularly provisioned with monkey chow, fruit, and vegetables by Jungle Cruise boat captains who wanted to lure them closer to their customers.” – International Primate Protection League