The monkeys that remain at large have been hanging out in nearby trees and hopping over the testing facility’s fence for fun.
A South Carolina community is still under lockdown while authorities try to apprehend the remaining monkeys that broke out of a testing facility last week.
Twenty-five of the forty-three rhesus macaque monkeys who broke out of the Alpha Genesis research facility last Wednesday were returned to their cage since the weekend was crucial for the capture attempts.
But in a Facebook post, Yemassee police stated that they are still trying to apprehend the 18 people who are still at large.
Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, was quoted in the Facebook post as saying that although the recovery process is long, the crew is dedicated to taking as much time as needed to properly retrieve all of the remaining animals.
According to police, a “sizable group” of the missing monkeys have been found and are able to establish themselves in the trees along the fence line of the property. with a previous update, they acknowledged that managers and employees were present to assist with keeping the animals fed and that the animals were “jumping back and forth over the facility’s fence.”
Additionally, they stated that vets had been to the location and that “all recovered animals are in good health, according to initial reports from the veterinary team.”
Residents of Yemassee, which is located over 100 kilometers west of Charleston, were advised last week to close their windows and lock their doors to keep the monkeys out of their houses.
Police claimed they verified with Alpha Genesis that the primates were too young to carry disease, and the “very young” females, all weighing around six or seven pounds, had never been used for testing.
Last Thursday, Matthew Garnes, the town administrator of Yemassee, revealed that the freed monkeys got away because a new employee at the Alpha Genesis Center left the door to their enclosure open.
Last week, Westergaard described the escape as “frustrating” in an interview with CBS News.
It is akin to following the leader. Westergaard remarked, “You see one go and the others go.” “Out of a group of fifty, forty-three fled and seven remained.”
According to its website, Alpha Genesis offers “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services,” such as plasma, serum, tissue samples, and entire blood, in addition to breeding monkeys and primates.
Monkeys have previously vanished from the institution, according to the local daily Post and Courier. Eight years ago, 19 primates escaped, but they were all caught within six hours. Link