Search teams were deployed to find these rhesus macaques, in particular by “attracting them with food”, the police in Yemassee, South Carolina, said this Thursday, November 7.
Around forty macaques are actively being sought by the authorities this Thursday, November 7 after making a show of a research laboratory in South Carolina, in the southeast of the United States, local police announced.
The monkeys, described by police as “fearful”, are believed to have fled their enclosure earlier in the day at a facility in Yemassee run by Alpha Genesis, a company that specializes in biomedical research on primates.
“Please do not try to approach these animals”
Yemassee police are urging residents to keep their doors and windows “securely closed” and to call them if they see any of the monkeys.
“Please do not attempt to approach these animals under any circumstances,” added the police, specifying that all of the 43 macaques are young females weighing up to 3 kg and who were not used for tests.
“A spokesperson for Alpha Genesis confirmed that these animals are too young to carry diseases,” police said.
Company boss Greg Westergaard told CBS News the escape was “frustrating” and that he hoped for “a happy ending” with the primates returning on their own.
The macaques fled when an employee forgot to lock the door to their enclosure, he added.
