The Dania Beach monkeys escaped from the Dania Chimp Farm in the late 1940’s. The Dania Chimp Farm was originally called the Anthropoid Ape Research Foundation (ARFF). ARFF was opened in the early 1940’s by Leila Roosevelt and Armand Dennis in Dania Beach, Florida. ARFF was both a research facility and zoo. Primates were imported from Africa for biomedical and entertainment purposes. The Ash family bought the property in 1951 and renamed it the Dania Chimpanzee Farm. The Dania Chimp Farm closed in 1957 when Florida Power and Light bought the land.