Authorities in South Carolina have warned residents to lock their doors and windows after 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility Wednesday night.
The primates broke loose from a Alpha Genesis facility in Beaufort County and traps have been set up and thermal imaging cameras are being used in an effort to locate the fugitive monkeys, the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” police said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
According to its website, Alpha Genesis breeds monkeys and provides “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services” across the globe. The company’s clinical trials reportedly include research on progressive brain disorders.
Authorities didn’t identify the breed of the escaped primates, but the company’s website says its staff of veterinary technicians and animal specialists work with cynomolgous, rhesus and capuchin monkeys.
The Yemassee Police Department said multiple officers were working with Alpha Genesis personnel to recapture the primates.
The Post and Courier newspaper reported last year that Alpha Genesis won a federal contract to oversee a colony of 3,500 rhesus monkeys on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, known as “Monkey Island.”
The newspaper reported that monkeys have escaped from Alpha Genesis before. Eight years ago, 19 primates escaped from the company’s facility but were recaptured about six hours later.
Last year in Pennsylvania, dozens of lab monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 of the animals crashed. All the primates were later accounted for.
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