43 monkeys escape U.S. research facility; residents told to lock doors, windows

Authorities person warned residents successful South Carolina to fastener their doors and adjacent their windows, aft much than 40 monkeys escaped a probe installation and are moving escaped portion constabulary effort to circular them up.

The Yemassee Police Department confirmed successful a Facebook post Thursday that 43 rhesus macaque escaped the Alpha Genesis installation successful Beaufort County the erstwhile day.

The primates, each “very young” females weighing astir six oregon 7 pounds, person ne'er been utilized for investigating and constabulary said they confirmed with Alpha Genesis that the animals are too young to transportation disease.

“Alpha Genesis presently person eyes connected the primates and are moving to entice them with food,” constabulary said Thursday afternoon, adding that they’re supplementing their hunt efforts with traps and thermal imaging.

“Residents are powerfully advised to support doors and windows secured to forestall these animals from entering homes,” constabulary wrote. Anyone who finds a monkey should not interact with it but alternatively telephone 911, it said, informing that the monkeys tin beryllium “skittish and immoderate further sound oregon question could hinder their harmless capture.”

As of Thursday afternoon, nary of the animals had been captured.

According to ABC News, Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes confirmed that the fugitive monkeys escaped erstwhile a caller worker astatine the Alpha Genesis halfway left the doorway to their enclosure open.

Garnes told municipality officials that constabulary don’t expect the animals to person travelled precise far.

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In an interrogation with CBS News Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard called the flight “frustrating.”

“It’s truly similar follow-the-leader. You spot 1 spell and the others go,” Westergaard said. “It was a radical of 50 and 7 stayed down and 43 bolted retired the door.”

He added that helium hopes the monkeys determine to instrumentality connected their own.

Alpha Genesis, according to its website, breeds monkeys and primates and provides “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services,” including plasma, serum, insubstantial samples and full blood.

Local paper Post and Courier reported that monkeys person gone missing from the installation earlier — 8 years ago, 19 primates made a interruption for it, but each were recaptured wrong six hours.