There are still bananas in there!
Dozens of monkeys that escaped from a medical research center in South Carolina were still on the loose Friday, with some hanging from nearby trees after staff left the enclosure door open. said the official.
A total of 43 furry fugitives escaped from the Alpha Genesis Institute in Yamasee on Thursday and have been hightailing it through the countryside for more than 24 hours, warning neighbors to stay away, police said. I called out.
Some of the female rhesus macaques, which weigh about 6 pounds and feed on fruit and insects, have been seen running across warehouse roofs and congregating next to local food pantries, the report said. WSAV.com
The primate was released Thursday morning after a worker cleaning the enclosure left the door ajar, said Greg Westergaard, CEO of the institute. .
“Yesterday's incident involved a new enclosure and occurred because the caretaker, who was doing regular cleaning and feeding, did not secure two separate doors. It was purely human error.” said Westergaard. NBC News.
As of Friday afternoon, no monkeys had been captured, but Westergard said they were likely to return on their own.
The center told police the monkeys were too young to transmit the disease, but it was not immediately clear whether the monkeys were incapable of transmitting the disease or did not become infected during clinical trials. There wasn't.
Still, police warned local residents not to approach the primates.
“These animals are very sensitive and easily startled, so we advise the public to avoid the area to avoid further scaring them,” Imasi Police said in a statement.
“They are not infected with any disease. They are harmless, but they can be a little bit temperamental,” Emmacy Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.
In 2022, 11 monkeys escaped from the same research center through a broken chain-link fence, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
