Dr. Deborah “Missy” Williams joins Let’s Talk Lauderdale to share the incredible, very-Florida story of Dania Beach’s wild vervet monkey colony living on 160 acres of mangroves between Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale airport. She explains their escape from a former biomedical facility, her creation of the Dania Beach Vervet Project and Monkey Sanctuary, and why these primates must be treated as wildlife—not pets.​

• Hear the true origin story of Dania Beach’s vervet monkeys and their link to biomedical research.
• Get practical “wildlife etiquette” tips for encountering monkeys, raccoons, and other urban critters.
• Peek behind the scenes at an off‑grid sanctuary powered by solar panels and a 1,000‑gallon water tank.
• Discover how volunteers and students support daily care, enrichment, and field research.
• Find out how to donate, symbolically adopt a monkey, or become a Habitat Hero through

Links from the Show: 

• Dania Beach Vervet Project & Monkey Sanctuary: https://vervetproject.org
• South Florida Wildlife Center: https://southfloridawildlifecenter.org
• Florida Atlantic University (FAU): https://www.fau.edu
• Broward College: https://www.broward.edu
• Chase Sanctuary: https://chasesanctuary.org
• LauderAle Brewery: https://www.lauderale.co
• Jungle Queen (Fort Lauderdale): https://www.junglequeen.com
• Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi: https://watertaxi.com
• Las Olas Boulevard (visitors site): https://lasolasboulevard.com
• The Florida Room: https://www.floridaroomftl.com/
• The Righteous Gemstones (TV series): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8634332/

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Website: https://www.letstalklauderdale.com/
Let’s Talk Lauderdale is hosted by Marvin Bee & Jen Stewart.

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