Recently, a woman tragically lost her life following an incident involving an overturned truck carrying monkeys on a Mississippi highway. It happened early on a Sunday morning, and her concern for her children’s safety prompted her actions.
Jessica Bond Ferguson, whose son called her to report a monkey in their yard near Heidelberg, grabbed her gun and stepped outside. She spotted the animal approximately 60 feet away.
Bond-Ferguson recounted that both she and her neighbors fired their weapons after being told the runaway monkey might be diseased.
“I did what any mother would do to protect her kids,” she explained, adding that she shot at the monkey twice, and it ultimately fell to the ground.
The local sheriff’s office verified that a homeowner spotted the monkey that Sunday morning and later confirmed that the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks had taken the animal into custody.
Before she could even leave her house, Bond-Ferguson had called the authorities, who advised her to monitor the monkey. However, she was worried it might escape and pose a threat to other children nearby.
The 35-year-old chef expressed her concerns: “If it were to attack someone’s child and I could have stopped it, that would be a significant burden for me.” She found it quite alarming to have such animals roaming freely, especially with kids playing outside.
The rhesus macaques involved are usually housed at Tulane University’s National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans. The university clarified that they do not own the monkeys and did not facilitate their transport.
The truck accident happened on Interstate 59 on a Tuesday, leaving many of the monkeys displaced. Out of 21 monkeys on board, 13 were recovered at the site, while three remain missing. Five individuals tragically died searching for them prior to Sunday.
The Mississippi State Highway Patrol is currently investigating the crash’s cause, which took place around 100 miles from Jackson, the state capital.
Typically, rhesus macaques weigh around 16 pounds and are among the most frequently studied animals in research. Footage captured post-accident depicted a monkey moving through tall grass next to the interstate, where remnants of wooden boxes marked “Live Animals” were scattered.
Sheriff Randy Johnson mentioned that Tulane officials had reported the monkeys were not contagious, even though initial warnings suggested they could carry harmful diseases. Nevertheless, he noted that these monkeys still necessitate “neutralization” given their aggressive tendencies.
Tulane also announced that the monkeys had been tested and were free from pathogens. Conservation officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife are collaborating with local law enforcement in the ongoing search for the escaped animal. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time rhesus macaques have escaped; earlier this year, 43 of them got free from a research facility in South Carolina due to security lapses.
