Morgan Island, South Carolina

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Morgan
Nickname: Monkey Island
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Morgan
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 32°27′55″N80°31′10″W / 32.4652°N 80.5194°W / 32.4652; -80.5194
ArchipelagoSea Islands
Area1,816.63 ha (4,489.0 acres)
Administration
United States
StateSouth Carolina
CountyBeaufort
Demographics
Population0 (about 4000 rhesus monkeys)

Morgan Island is one of the Sea Islands, located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, just north of Beaufort. It is also known as Monkey Island due to its colony of free-ranging rhesus monkeys, established in 1979. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Geography

Morgan Island is a 4,489-acre (1,817-hectare) marshland island that consists of 635 acres (257 ha) of upland. The island is located between the Morgan and Coosaw rivers and borders the Saint Helena Sound to the south and Parrot Creek to the north. The marshland area includes three major tidal creeks as well as other small creeks. [1] Morgan Island is uninhabited, and is home to a breeding colony of approximately 3,500 free-ranging, Indian-origin rhesus monkeys. There is a 370-acre (150 ha) portion of upland that supports a semi-tropical maritime forest where the monkey colony primarily resides. [1]

The colony on Morgan Island is one of only two rhesus monkey colonies in the continental United States, the other being on the Silver River in Florida. [6]

Monkey colony

Historically, the island has been uninhabited due to its location and distance from the mainland. Originally, the monkey colony now located on Morgan Island was located at the Caribbean Primate Research Center in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. [5] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were incidents of the free-ranging monkeys escaping, carrying viral herpes B infections, which lead to outbreaks in the local population. Puerto Rico was alarmed by this, and South Carolina stepped in to offer an uninhabited island for research. In 1979 and 1980, over 1,400 animals were relocated to Morgan Island. [5]

The island is owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). The monkeys that live on the island are owned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and used for public health research. [7] Alpha Genesis, a primate-breeding facility based on Morgan Island, is under contact with the NIH. [8] In September 2025, a congressional committee pressed federal health officials to scientifically justify the continued breeding of primates on the island. Congressmember Nancy Mace, whose district includes Morgan Island, has called for an end to taxpayer-funded primate experiments and asked for the island be shut down. [9]

Conservation

Morgan Island lies within the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, under the National Estuarine Research Reserve system (NERR). [1] [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Klopchin, Jeanette L.; Stewart, Jill R.; Webster, Laura F.; Sandifer, Paul A. (February 1, 2008). "Assessment of environmental impacts of a colony of free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macca mulatta) on Morgan Island, South Carolina" (PDF). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 137 (1): 301–313. doi:10.1007/s10661-007-9766-3. ISSN   1573-2959. PMID   17564800. S2CID   19169441. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lewis Turner "Monkey Island, South Carolina: Fact or Fiction", WLTX, May 21, 2010.
  3. ↑ Holly Bounds, "Morgan Island: Beaufort County's Island of Monkeys", WSAV-TV, April 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ Bo Peterson, "Morgan Island gains higher public profile", The Post and Courier , December 19, 2005. via HighBeam Research.
  5. 1 2 3 Taub, D. M.; Mehlman, P. T. (April 1, 1989). "Development of the Morgan Island rhesus monkey colony". Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal. 8 (1): 159–169. ISSN   0738-0658. PMID   2780958.
  6. ↑ Anderson, C. Jane; Van De Kerk, Madelon; Pine, William E.; Hostetler, Mark E.; Heard, Darryl J.; Johnson, Steve A. (October 26, 2018). "Population estimate and management options for introduced rhesus macaques". The Journal of Wildlife Management. 83 (2): 295–303. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.21588 . ISSN   0022-541X. S2CID   92091634.
  7. ↑ Weismann, Lisa (December 17, 2021). "Congresswoman Draws Attention to Testing on S.C. Island Monkeys". WRDW-TV News 12. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Marilyn W. (October 19, 2025). "SC Monkey Island eyed as potential retirement community for research primates". The Post and Courier.
  9. ↑ Marilyn, Thompson (September 9, 2015). "SC's Monkey Island breeding operation comes under House committee scrutiny". The Post and Courier. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ Owen, Beth; White, Susan, eds. (2005). National Estuarine Research Reserve System 10 Anniversary Report on the System-wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) Data Applications: 1995–2005 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2017.
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