What we know after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina

More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina On Wednesday, residents were asked to secure their doors and windows. The fugitive monkeys had not yet been caught as of Friday morning.

Here’s what we know so far:

Where exactly did the monkeys escape in South Carolina?

The primates escaped from Alpha Genesis in Yemassee, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

The company confirmed that 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an enclosure at one of the company’s facilities.

Yemassee police said Thursday that baited traps were set and thermal imaging cameras were used to capture the monkeys.

“Residents are strongly advised to secure doors and windows to prevent these animals from entering their homes,” police said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please call 911 immediately and do not approach them again.”

How did the monkeys escape the research facility?

Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told CBS News on Thursday that a caretaker accidentally failed to secure a door on the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam freely.

“It’s really like following the leader. You see one go and the others go,” he said. “There was a group of 50 people, seven stayed behind and 43 ran out the door.”

He told CBS News on Friday that while they had not caught any of the monkeys, they were near the facility.

“They’re just silly monkeys jumping back and forth and playing with each other,” he said. “It’s kind of a playground situation here.”

Westergaard said the company has set up baited traps, but the monkeys won’t go in yet.

“They jump down, take the food and then jump back up onto the fence and tree line,” he added. “They watch us the same way we watch them.”

He acknowledged that it would be a long process to get them back and that they did not want to chase the monkeys because it would scare them and run away.

“We are very close to them,” Westergaard said. “It’s all the way we want to see it.”

What kind of monkeys are these?

The escaped monkeys were rhesus monkeys with brown fur and red faces and ears. They wear short-cropped hair on their heads that emphasizes their expressive faces.

The rhesus macaques are Asian Old World monkeys that are mainly found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia and China.

According to the New England Primate Conservancy, rhesus macaques were imported into the United States in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories.

Rhesus macaques are “courageous, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys” and the species is “very adaptable to living with humans,” according to the nature conservation authority.

The typical diet of the rhesus monkey includes roots, fruits, seeds and bark as well as insects and small animals.

What were they testing with the monkeys?

According to its website, Alpha Gensis breeds monkeys and provides “non-human primate products and bioresearch services” worldwide. The company’s clinical trials reportedly include research into progressive brain diseases.

Local authorities said Thursday that the escaped primates were “very young females weighing approximately 6 to 5 pounds” and that they had never been used for testing due to their age.

Alpha Genesis says its team of veterinary technicians and animal specialists work with cynomolgus monkeys, rhesus macaques and capuchin monkeys.

The Post and Courier newspaper reported last year that Alpha Genesis had won a federal contract to oversee a colony of 3,500 rhesus macaques on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, known as “Monkey Island.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the monkeys previously lived as “free-range monkeys” on Morgan Island and were brought to the Alpha Genesis facility “for conditioning to be around humans be”.

The facility is registered with the CDC as an importer of nonhuman primates, meaning it must “meet standards for the importation, quarantine and use of NHPs,” the agency said.

The CDC added that “the risk to the public is low as long as people do not approach or come into contact with the monkeys.”

How often do research monkeys escape?

This isn’t the first time primates have escaped from Alpha Genesis.

Eight years ago, 19 primates escaped from the company’s facility but were recaptured about six hours later.

CBS affiliate WCSC in Charleston reported at the time that local officials said the escapes were not rare, but generally the monkeys return to the site because they know there is food there.

“Every few years one or two will come out. Never have so many come out,” Westergaard told CBS News on Friday.

Last year, dozens of lab monkeys escaped in Pennsylvania after a truck carrying 100 animals crashed. All primates were later billed.

The research facility has a history of USDA violations

An investigation by CBS affiliate WTOC found that Alpha Genesis received eight violations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022, including a housing equipment violation and a veterinary violation.

The report found that in the first eight months of 2022, six monkeys were housed in incorrect enclosures – one animal was found dead due to “trauma caused by the animals living in the enclosure” and four animals subsequently required veterinary attention Supply.

WTOC also reported that there were six separate cases of monkeys escaping their enclosure during the same period. After those escapes, the company repaired the chain link and disposed of some of the breached cages, the station report said.

Alpha Genesis was last inspected by the USDA in May 2024 and there were no violations. That report indicates there were at least 6,701 monkeys on the property at the time of the inspection, WTOC reported.

Anna Schecter contributed to this report.