Playful Primates Swing Freely In A Lush Tropical Paradise At This Unique Florida Wildlife Park

If you're seeking a change from the busy vibes that pervade Miami's clubs, eateries, and beaches and are looking for a more relaxed, wholesome excursion, consider heading to Monkey Jungle, a wildlife park where you can get in touch with nature and meet the playful creatures that thrive there. Similar to the United States' only tropical rainforest, entering Monkey Jungle is like stepping into a lush paradise bursting with native and exotic plants and trees.

The grounds consist of a 5-acre rainforest where the fronds of South American palms sway and vividly colored bromeliads bloom beneath a canopy of South Florida hardwood hammocks. Starting with just six imported crab-eating macaques, the park has grown to be the home to around 500 primates that run and swing at their leisure in semi-natural habitats, creating the sensation that you are traipsing through some far-flung jungle.

A visit here provides many chances to encounter a number of fascinating creatures as you navigate a network of gated tunnels that pass through the monkeys' digs. Squirrel monkeys, capuchins, and howler monkeys run free in the Amazonian Rainforest section of the park, and you can also say hello to mischievous Java Macaques as they swoop in and out of a pond. Impressively, sightings of an enormous silverback gorilla that resides in 'Cameroon Gorilla Forest' are also possible. It's important to realize that the monkeys and apes are not kept in cages and roam freely as if on their own Florida island monkey sanctuary, hence the tunnels that serve to enclose and protect the guests, leaving the jungle dwellers free to do their thing as they would in the wild.

Monkey Jungle takes its monkey business seriously. Aside from serving as a conservancy for their primates, some of which are endangered, such as the golden lion tamarins and King the Gorilla, the aforementioned silverback, the park aides educate their guests about the monkey dwellers through a series of tours and shows.

One such tour is called the Amazonian Rainforest, a thrice-daily excursion that gives visitors some insight into the three adorable species of monkeys that live there. One such critter is the squirrel monkey, which frolics among the imported Amazon plants, trees, and palms, but separately from the opposite sex. They hang out apart from each other because the females outweigh the males most of the year and would beat the boys up if they tried to get too close.

You can unleash your inner monkey explorer even further on the tour by feeding them, either from pails that suspend from the ceilings of the gated passageways or, if you're brave, in an open area where the monkeys climb all over you as they vie for the snacks you offer.

Although the primates at Monkey Jungle are the undeniable stars of the show, what would a tropical paradise be without birds and reptiles in the mix?  "Dino" is one such reptile, a rhinoceros iguana who displays the species' signature bony growths on its snout that bear a resemblance to the horns of a rhino. A sulcata tortoise, the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, is another one of the park's inhabitants. Its sand-colored shell resembles that of a beach-swept conch rather than the dark green you would expect.

Bird lovers will be pleased to learn that Monkey Jungle is also home to a collection of brightly colored parrots. Although it may not be one of the best birdwatching destinations in the US, the park still offers people a unique chance to observe these winged creatures. The Wings of Love Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the tropical birds, operates out of the park where they fulfill their mission of keeping the birds safe.

The park aims to please guests, but above all, it strives to keep the quality of the animals' habitats as its top priority. One visitor on TripAdvisor was pleased with how "clean and well maintained' the facilities were and felt the two and a half hours she spent wandering the grounds were well worth it. Ultimately, it's a rewarding excursion for adults and kids alike that doesn't disappoint.