more than this 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina On Wednesday, nearby residents were warned to secure their doors and windows. The fugitive monkeys could not be caught till Friday morning.
Here's what we know so far:
Where exactly did the monkeys run to in South Carolina?
The Primates separated from Alpha Genesis at Yemassee in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
The company confirmed that 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an enclosure at one of the company's facilities.
The Yamasee Police Department said Thursday that baited traps have been set up and thermal imaging cameras are being used in an effort to catch the monkeys.
“Residents are strongly advised to secure doors and windows to prevent these animals from entering homes,” police said. Said“If you see any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and avoid approaching them.”
How did the monkeys escape from the research facility?
Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told CBS News on Thursday that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door in the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam freely.
He said, “It's really like following the leader. You see one moving and you see the other moving.” “It was a group of 50 people and 7 stayed behind and 43 walked out the door.”
He told CBS News on Friday that although he has not captured any of the monkeys, they are living close to the facility.
“They're just goofy monkeys jumping back and forth and playing with each other,” he said. “Here it's like a playground situation.”
Westergaard said the company has set up baited traps but the monkeys are not yet entering them.
“They're jumping down and getting food and then jumping back over the fence and tree line,” he said. “They're looking at us just like we're looking at them.”
He admitted that getting them back would be a long process and he did not want to chase the monkeys because it would scare them and run away.
“We've got them very close,” Westergaard said. “It's all just what we want to see.”
What kind of monkeys are they?
The monkeys that survived are rhesus macaque primates, which have brown fur with red faces and ears. He has close-cropped hair on his head, which enhances his extremely expressive face.
Rhesus macaques are Asian, Old World monkeys found primarily in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and China.
MD Rafayat Haq Khan/Ipix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images
According to the , rhesus macaques were imported to the US in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories. New England Primate Conservancy,
The conservatory states that rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys” and that the species is “highly adapted to coexistence with humans”.
The typical diet of rhesus macaques includes roots, fruits, seeds and bark, as well as insects and small animals.
What were they using monkeys to test?
According to its website, Alpha Genesis breeds monkeys and provides “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services” worldwide. Company's clinical trial reportedly involved Research on progressive brain disorders.
Local officials said Thursday that the escaped primates were “very young females weighing about 6-7 pounds” and had never been used for testing because of their age.
Alpha Genesis says its staff of veterinary technicians and animal experts work with cynomolgus, rhesus and capuchin monkeys.
Post and Courier The newspaper reported last year that Alpha Genesis had won a federal contract to oversee a colony of 3,500 rhesus monkeys on Morgan Island, South Carolina, known as “Monkey Island.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the monkeys were previously living on Morgan Island as “free-range monkeys” and were brought to the Alpha Genesis facility “for conditioning to live around people.” Was.
The facility is registered with the CDC as a non-human primate importer, meaning it “must meet standards for importation, quarantine, and use of NHPs,” the agency said.
The CDC said that “the risk to the public is low unless people approach or come in contact with monkeys.”
How often do research monkeys run away?
This is not the first time the primates have escaped from Alpha Genesis.
Eight years ago, 19 primates escaped from the company's facility but was recaptured after about six hours.
CBS affiliate WCSC in Charleston reported at the time that local officials said escapes do not occur, but monkeys generally return to the compound because they know that's where the food is.
“Every couple of years we'll have one or two people who will drop out. We've never had that many people drop out before,” Westergaard told CBS News on Friday.
Last year in Pennsylvania, dozens of laboratory monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 animals crashed. All primates were later accounted for,