The police department in Yemassee, South Carolina, has warned locals to keep their windows and doors secure after 43 rhesus macaques escaped from a nearby research facility.
“At approximately 1pm on Wednesday November 6, 2024, the Yemassee Police Department received an alert from Alpha Genesis regarding the escape of numerous Rhesus Macaque primates from their enclosures,” said the department in a statement posted to Facebook.
“The public is advised to avoid the area as these animals are described [as] skittish and any additional noise or movement could hinder their safe capture,” it added, advising residents to not approach the macaques and instead call 911 to report any sightings, as well as ensure that any doors and windows are securely shut.
Alpha Genesis – the company in charge of the Yemassee facility – describes itself as a specialist in nonhuman primate breeding and contract research, conducting projects on crab-eating macaques and capuchin monkeys, as well as rhesus macaques.
According to the police, the escaped rhesus monkeys are young females that have not been used for testing, with a spokesperson from Alpha Genesis confirming that they are “too young to carry disease”.
“We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals,” said the police in another statement.
The CEO of Alpha Genesis, Greg Westergaard, told CBS News that the escape was the result of a caretaker at the facility failing to secure one of the enclosure doors.
“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” said Westergaard. “It was a group of 50 and 7 stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”
Both the local police department and Alpha Genesis are now working to capture the escapees, with the help of thermal imaging cameras to locate the monkeys, and traps containing food as a lure.
As of November 7, the monkeys are yet to have been captured.
This isn’t the first time that monkeys have escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility. As reported by the Post and Courier, the company was previously fined $12,600 for six incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2016.
In one such incident in December 2014, 26 monkeys escaped; as with the current incident, this was because their enclosure was not properly secured. A separate episode taking place in the same month saw one monkey escape while being moved to medical clinic – it was never found.
