A wild rhesus macaque was spotted swinging around town in Orange City, Florida, a suburb of Orlando over the past week. 

The Orange City Police Department asked residents Wednesday to report any sightings to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and above all not to monkey with the monkey.

Authorities specifically warned against attempts to feed or capture the macaque.

Police said reports have been coming in regarding the rogue rhesus macaque since Friday. Thus far, it has made a monkey out of authorities trying to corral it.

“We would send someone out to that area, no luck, we can’t find it, and it just kept going on. Several days throughout the several days,” OCPD told WESH-TV.

Residents who have spotted the macaque have been surprised to see it in their town.

“I look over and I’m like, ‘Is this real? This cannot be possible.’ The monkey’s smart because he looked at the traffic and he knew not to go that way,” Kim Bialobos, a shift manager at an Orange City Popeyes restaurant, told WOFL-TV.

Feeding wild monkeys, a FWC brochure posted by the OCPD on Facebook warns, is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.

Rhesus macaques, native to Asia, were first introduced to Florida in the 1930s; a breeding population of the primates exists in Silver Springs State Park 60 miles to the northwest of Orange City, according to University of Florida researchers.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.