After more than 40 monkeys escaped from a medical testing and research facility in South Carolina earlier this week, 42 monkeys are still on the loose as of Saturday with only one monkey recovered safely.
The Rhesus macaques monkeys initially escaped from Alpha Genesis in Beaufort County on Wednesday after an employee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them. The Yemassee Police Department said it has “multiple officers collaborating with Alpha Genesis personnel to resolve this situation.”
“Traps have been set up around the area, and the Yemassee Police Department is currently on-site utilizing thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to locate the animals,” police said in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday. “Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes.
“If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
While one of the primates was recovered safely, the search for the 42 others continued, the Associated Press reported local officials.
According to police, the monkeys have since been seen exploring the outer fence of the Alpha Genesis compound and have been engaging with the monkeys inside the facility’s grounds on Saturday, a reassuring sign for staff.
Despite the monkeys’ escape, officials assure the public there’s no health risk as the monkeys, all females weighing about 7 pounds, are about the size of a cat.
In addition, over the weekend, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard confirmed that retrieval efforts will persist for as long as it takes.
Newsweek has reached out to Alpha Genesis via email for comment.
According to its website, Alpha Genesis provides the “highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services” across North America, Europe and Asia, and has “one of the largest and most comprehensive nonhuman primate facilities, designed specifically for monkeys, in the United States.” The company’s clinical trials reportedly include research on progressive brain disorders.
The search for the monkeys comes after the company had previously come under the scrutiny of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service after several monkeys died in its care.
A USDA report said the facility had “enclosures lacking appropriate structural strength and design,” which provided “opportunities for escape, entrapment, or unintended interactions with other animals, potentially resulting in injury or death to the animals.”
It found that staff members had incorrectly placed primates in non-socialized groups, resulting in one being killed by other monkeys, and that one infant became entangled in mesh designed to hold a water bottle. The animal did not survive.
The USDA said the company had “implemented improvements of the facility’s standard operating procedures.”
This is not the first time monkeys have escaped from the facility. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped but were rounded up and returned within six hours, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina.
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