Rhesus macaque monkeys are on the list of animals confirmed so far. Game Informer names them among the invasive species Rockstar added to Leonida, a nod to Florida's real wild monkeys.
What we know
GTA 6 has wild monkeys. Game Informer's own summary of its cover story lists "even rhesus macaque monkeys (Yes, Florida has monkeys)" among the invasive species that share Leonida with native animals, alongside green iguanas, cane toads and feral cats. IGN's animal list includes "Monkeys (Rhesus macaque, probably others)", and Sportskeeda and Notebookcheck report the same.
No trailer has shown a monkey yet, and Rockstar has not said where they live in Leonida.
Florida really does have monkeys
The story behind them is one of Florida's strangest. In 1938 a tour boat operator known as "Colonel Tooey" released six rhesus macaques onto a small island in what is now Silver Springs State Park, hoping for a jungle-themed attraction, National Geographic reports. Nobody had told him rhesus macaques swim well, and they were in the woods within hours. By 2018 the park held at least 300 of them.
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| About 30% of the Silver Springs monkeys carry herpes B, which is rarely passed to people but can be deadly | National Geographic, citing CDC scientists |
| Stray males have ranged more than 100 miles from the colony, turning up as far as Sarasota and Tallahassee | National Geographic |
| Rhesus macaques have also established populations in the Florida Keys | National Geographic |
| A permitted trapper caught about 830 macaques around Silver Springs between 1998 and 2012 | UF/IFAS fact sheet |
Our take: the macaques are the clearest sign that Rockstar studied Florida rather than a postcard of it. Nobody needed monkeys in a crime game, and that is why they work: they are a true Florida story that most players outside the state have never heard. Where they live in Leonida is the open question. Real colonies sit at a central Florida spring and in the Keys, so we'd look along wooded rivers and on the Keys first, but that is our reading of the real map, not anything Rockstar has said. Expect them to be bold around people; real ones are.
What to watch for at launch
- Where the monkeys live, and whether there is a spring or river park like Silver Springs.
- Whether they steal food or items from players, the way real macaques approach boats.
- Whether IGN's "probably others" turns out to mean more than one kind of monkey.
Submit a findSomething wrong or missing on Rhesus macaques?
Sources
- Exclusive: Grand Theft Auto VI Includes Over 170 Animal Species (Game Informer) (Sep 29, 2026)
- GTA 6: Every Animal Confirmed So Far (IGN) (Sep 30, 2026)
- GTA 6 will feature over 170 animal species (Sportskeeda) (Sep 30, 2026)
- GTA 6 adds wild monkeys to a roster of more than 170 animal species (Notebookcheck) (Oct 5, 2026)
- These wild monkeys thrive in Florida, and carry a deadly virus (National Geographic) (Nov 9, 2018)
- History and Status of Introduced Rhesus Macaques in Silver Springs State Park (UF/IFAS) (Oct 8, 2026)
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