Research

The DuMond Conservancy has a rich history of studying primate ecology and behavior and of providing learning and training opportunities to young  researchers and conservationists during the formative period of their careers. Monkey Jungle itself was founded on the basis of studying primate behavior when in 1933 Joseph DuMond released a troop of six Java Macaques onto the dense South Florida Hammock, that we now know as the grounds of Monkey Jungle, with the intention of studying those primates in a naturalistic environment. Now, nearly 80 years later, the DuMond Conservancy continues this tradition of studying primate behavior in semi-naturalistic conditions with its colony of approximately 50 owl monkeys, as well as the collection of primates found at Monkey Jungle, including a troop of over 110 semi-free ranging macaques that are descendants of the original six, and a group of over 85 semi-free ranging squirrel monkeys. In addition, the Conservancy and Monkey Jungle serve as a platform for field methods courses in which young aspiring scientists learn valuable non-invasive ecology and conservation related research techniques.

We’ve hosted scientists from numerous institutions, including Florida International University, Randolph-Macon College, University of Miami, University of Pennsylvania and Bucknell University. Many research endeavors conducted at the DuMond Conservancy have been published in a variety of Scientific Publications and many Alumni who have studied at the DuMond Conservancy have gone on to pursue careers in primatology, academia, and conservation, and several have become prominent leaders in their field.