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Via iStockphoto \/ @fireball_1969 TikTok<\/a><\/p>\n A woman went viral on TikTok after sharing a story that seemed too surreal to be true. During a trip to Florida, she was paddling along when monkeys started raining from the sky.<\/p>\n User @fireball_1969 filmed the moment from a small kayak, saying Florida\u2019s wild monkeys<\/a> \u201cput on a show\u201d for her. In the clip, she pans her camera toward a nearby cliff, where monkeys appear to be leaping into the water one after another.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re jumping in,\u201d @fireball_1969 says in disbelief. \u201cLook at them all. These are all monkeys jumping in. It\u2019s raining monkeys.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point, she even catches one landing right near her boat\u2014close enough to make her flinch. \u201cWhat the heck is making them all jump?\u201d she wonders aloud.<\/p>\n As of Tuesday, the video had racked up more than 27.1 million views.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Going On Here?<\/p>\n The Silver Springs State Park area is home to hundreds<\/a> of rhesus macaques\u2014a non-native species brought to Florida<\/a> in the 1930s for a jungle-themed river attraction. What began as a quirky tourist stunt turned into a self-sustaining colony, with the monkeys thriving in the state\u2019s subtropical forests.<\/p>\n Experts say rhesus macaques are strong swimmers<\/a> and sometimes cross the Silver River to forage or avoid people. But mass crossings like the one caught on camera are rare, usually set off by some sort of stressor, such as loud noises or nearby crowds.<\/p>\n In 2022, wildlife officials said they hoped to curb<\/a>\u2014or even eliminate\u2014the monkey population after researchers found that some carried the herpes B virus, which can infect humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented 50 human cases of the virus worldwide, though none have been linked to Florida\u2019s macaques.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s main concern is limiting human-monkey contact, a challenge made harder by people who try to feed the animals or take selfies with them. A 2018 study found<\/a> that completely removing the macaques would require capturing at least half the population every other year\u2014either to relocate or euthanize them. Another option would be sterilizing half the adult females every two years, which could shrink the population to about one-third its current size.<\/p>\n