Morgan Island is home to one of only two rhesus monkey colonies in the United States, the other being the colony on the Silver River. The island is operated through the SCDNR to provide a “natural outdoor laboratory for estuarine research and education”. In an article written in 2002 by Jeanette Klopchin about the environmental impacts of the free-ranging colony, the island was reportedly operated and owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). In 1979, over 1,400 animals were relocated to Morgan Island. South Carolina offered uninhabited Morgan Island for the monkeys to be housed. Puerto Rico was alarmed by this, and South Carolina stepped in to offer an island for research. The CDC report stated that there were outbreaks among locals when the monkeys became overpopulated. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were incidents of the free-ranging monkeys that were infected with the herpes B virus escaping. Originally, the monkey colony now located on Morgan Island was located in La Parguera, Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Primate Research Center. Historically, the island has been uninhabited due to its location and distance from the mainland. There is a 370-acre portion of upland that supports a semi-tropical maritime forest where the monkey colony primarily resides. Morgan Island is uninhabited, and is home to a breeding colony of approximately 3,500 free-ranging, Indian-origin rhesus monkeys (Maier). The marshland area includes three major tidal creeks as well as other small creeks. The island is located between the Morgan and Coosaw rivers and borders the Saint Helena Sound to the south and Parrot Creek (Klopchin) to the north. Morgan Island is a 4,489 acre marshland island that consists of 635 acres of upland.
It is also known as Monkey Island due to its colony of free-ranging rhesus monkeys, established in 1979. 74.223.132.66 ( talk) 13:39, 18 July 2009 back in the headlines today, must be a slow news day.Morgan Island is one of the Sea Islands, located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, just north of Beaufort. From what I understand the monkeys have been there since the mid 70's as the government had leased this island from a private individual for years before the government purchased the island in 2003 or 2004. It is as if the island was created with the intent to provide a natural home for it's inhabitants. The island is beautiful and the towering trees seem to be a perfect fit for the monkeys. I have seen upwards of 150 monkeys at a time or a few as none. You are permitted to drive up by boat and you can typically see 10-15 monkeys. I have seen research assistants on the island but I have never dared to get off and walk on the island. I have personally been there and can attest to the monkeys living on the island. Helena sound on an island known as Morgan island. Monkey island is located just off the St. You will go to jail for tresspassing on federal property. The news stations refused to disclose the location of the island, but I'm going to bet no one's dumb enough to actually try to go there. I found a College of Charleston page with an article along the lines of "Free range Rhesus Monkey Colony on Morgan Island" and another page that appears to be from a laboratory. Eganjt ( talk) 14:56, 28 July 2008 (UTC) I did a bit of google'ing and I think the exact location is Morgan Island, SC.
I'm still trying to find the exact location, and when I do, I'll update the page to show where it is.
I added a bit on Monkey Island SC after reading a news article that confirmed the "myth" that an uninhabitated island on the coast was full of monkeys. Disambiguation Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation Template:WikiProject Disambiguation Disambiguation articles If you wish to help, you can edit the page attached to this talk page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project or contribute to the discussion. This page is within the scope of WikiProject Disambiguation, an attempt to structure and organize all disambiguation pages on Wikipedia.