Cops in rural South Carolina have issued a warning to residents to keep their doors and windows shut after 43 monkeys escaped from a bio-research lab in Yemassee. The rhesus macaques got out of the Alpha Genesis facility, which is located just off I-95 in the southern part of the state. The company is known for providing primate research and development support to the scientific community. As of Thursday morning, none of the escaped monkeys have been recaptured.
Authorities have set up traps and are using thermal imaging cameras to track down the missing monkeys, but there is no indication of how they managed to break out of the facility. Local residents have been advised to secure their doors and windows to prevent the monkeys from entering homes. Officials are urging people not to approach the animals if they are spotted, but instead to call 911 to report sightings. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and state agricultural and wildlife officials are assisting local law enforcement in managing the situation humanely.
Despite concerns about the escaped animals, the Yemassee Police Department has assured the community that there is no health risk associated with the missing monkeys. Rhesus macaques, originally from India and China, are known for their intelligence. National Geographic reports that these monkeys have a long history in human medical and scientific research and even preceded humans in space exploration. Yemassee is a small town with a population of about 1,000 people in Beaufort and Hampton counties in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, located approximately 50 miles northwest of Savannah, Georgia.
Alpha Genesis Inc., the facility from which the monkeys escaped, has not yet responded to media requests for comment on the incident. Meanwhile, police and personnel from the company are working together to ensure the monkeys are recaptured. The situation remains ongoing, and authorities are focused on managing it effectively and safely. Given the potential dangers of approaching the animals, residents are being urged to remain vigilant and report any sightings of the escaped monkeys to law enforcement. The efforts to locate and retrieve the missing primates are ongoing, and authorities are working to address the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible.
