As if things in America needed to get any more dramatic this week, 43 wild monkeys are still on the loose after escaping from a research facility in South Carolina yesterday. Here’s what you need to know about the primates’ jailbreak and attempts to put an end to the monkey business.
Where did the monkeys escape from?
The monkeys escaped from a facility owned by a research company called Alpha Genesis. The facility is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The jailbreak occurred sometime on Wednesday, November 6.
What kind of monkeys are they?
According to the Yemassee Police Department, which patrols northern Beaufort County and Eastern Hampton County in South Carolina, the monkeys are Rhesus Macaque primates. All are said to be “very young” females that weigh between six and seven pounds.
How did the monkeys escape?
According to Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard, the monkeys escaped after a caretaker accidentally failed to secure a door at the facility. “It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” Westergaard told CBS News. “It was a group of 50 and 7 stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”
How will the monkeys be caught?
No one knows for sure how this will end, but according to NBC News Alpha Genesis “hopes that one-way traps containing apples will entice the animals.”
Isn’t this how ’28 Days Later’ started?
Of course, there have been no shortage of jokes about Danny Boyle’s horror movie 28 Day Later (where laboratory monkeys were the source of the Rage virus) or the sci-fi franchise Planet of the Apes since news of the monkey jailbreak made the rounds on social media.
But the good news is, the monkeys themselves are not believed to have any kind of diseases, nor were they experimented on due to their young age, according to the Yemassee PD.
So no, a zombie apocalypse nor the rise of our ape overlords are expected due to this outbreak.
Are the monkeys dangerous?
Despite being believed to not be carrying any diseases, monkeys are still wild animals that can act out aggressively unexpectedly or when frightened. That’s one of the reasons why experts are advising anyone who comes across one of the escaped monkeys not to approach them.
“Residents are urged to keep their doors and windows securely closed and to report any sightings immediately by dialing 911. Please do not attempt to approach these animals under any circumstances,” the Yemassee police have warned.
What is Alpha Genesis?
Alpha Genesis Inc. bills itself as “primate research specialists,” according to its website. The company says it “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate” specimens to research facilities across the globe. These primates are then primarily used in biomedical research.
But Alpha Genesis seems to have a problem keeping its monkeys contained. As the Associated Press reports, federal officials fined the company in 2018 after dozens of primates escaped one of its facilities. Nineteen primates went on the run in 2016 in addition to 26 in 2014.
What do I do if I see a monkey?
Do not attempt to approach the monkey, nor feed or capture it.
“We urge anyone who sights or encounters one of these animals to contact 911 immediately and to refrain from approaching or interacting with them,” the Yemassee police said in a statement on Facebook. “These animals are highly sensitive and easily startled, we recommend that the public to avoid the area to prevent frightening them further.”