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A rapidly breeding monkey species carrying a rare and deadly form of herpes at risk.
At least 300 rhesus macaques live in Silver Spring State Park in Central Florida. The monkeys, which are native to south and southeast Asia, have become the big attraction at the park.
But experts said the species is rapidly growing in size and population within five years.
The increase of the monkeys could be people at risk, according to a recently released study in the journal Wildlife Management.
About 30 percent of the species carries the rare and deadly herpes B virus. While it is rare for it to spread from humans to humans, when it does happen, humans can be put at risk, the report says.
Herpes B can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that it is a good thing to carry the virus, which can help in its ability to spread.
About 1,000 monkeys were trapped and removed between 1984 and 2012 in an effort to reduce the population, the study says. But the practice has ended "due to extensive public controversy."
Since then, no population management plan has been implemented.
The animals can be problematic, experts said.
"They are not ashamed of humans, and they can be pretty nasty," Erin Riley, an anthropologist who studies human-animal interactions at San Diego State University, told National Geographic.
In recent years, the monkeys have caused issues inside the park and outside of it. Male monkeys also were found up 100 miles away from the park in Sarasota and Tallahbadee.
Riley found that in addition to their regular herbivorous diet, the monkeys were also fed by humans.
Researchers have documented 50 human cases of herpes B, but are not suspected to be from macaques.
In one case, a research badistant died after bodily fluids from a monkey made contact with one of her eyes.
At least some people are OK with the monkeys.
"These monkeys have been here 80 years, and they did not choose to come here, so we do not think it's fair for us to get rid of them because we do not like them anymore," Debbie Walters, who works as a tour boat company, told National Geographic. "A lot of other animals cause disease, and we do not kill them."
In this statement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asked for a population management plan be put into place.
"Without management action, the presence and continued expansion of non-native rhesus macaques in Florida" Thomas Eason, Executive Assistant Director of the Commission, said in a statement , the Orlando Sentinel reported.
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