33 minutes of monkey drama, politics, and island gossip. Nature's reality show, unscripted.
Rhesus Monkeys of Santiago Island, Puerto Rico" (1966) is an in-depth documentary that explores the establishment and subsequent study of a rhesus monkey colony on Cayo Santiago, a small island located off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. This colony, established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), serves as a significant site for research into the social behavior and population ecology of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).
Production
Cayo Santiago: real island, real monkeys, real 1960s NIH funding flex.
Direction
Patient observation lets monkey society reveal itself.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Cayo Santiago became the longest-running primate field site in the world; this 1967 doc captures its messy, fascinating origins.
Those 'wild' monkeys were actually imported from India in 1938—this 'natural' colony is entirely human-engineered.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
