Current:Home > NewsPolice Search Underway After 40 Monkeys Escape Facility in South Carolina -Prime Capital Blueprint
Police Search Underway After 40 Monkeys Escape Facility in South Carolina
View
Date:2025-04-13 11:36:54
This is no time for monkeying around.
After all, there are monkeys on the loose. Or at least, there are in Yemassee, South Carolina, after 40 primates escaped from a research facility Nov. 6, local police confirmed.
“Traps have been set up around the area,” the statement shared to Facebook read, “and the Yemassee Police Department is currently on-site utilizing thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to locate the animals.”
And in addition to warning residents against approaching the animals—and instead ask they call 911—police added, “Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes.”
Police confirmed the animals escaped from Alpha Genesis Incorporated, a research facility which, according to its website, “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services world-wide.”
The department did not confirm what breed of monkeys are on the loose, but Alpha Genesis’ website notes it works with macaque and capuchin monkeys. It has also not been confirmed whether the escaped monkeys have been exposed to any diseases, and the company did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
According to NBC News, Alpha Genesis helps carry out clinical trials using monkeys, including on treatments for brain disease disorders such as Alzheimer’s, and has "one of the largest and most comprehensive nonhuman primate facilities, designed specifically for monkeys, in the United States."
And indeed, last year the company secured a contract to run a colony of 3,500 monkeys on Morgan Island—an uninhabited island off the coast of the state that is better known as “Monkey Island” due to the colony of rhesus monkeys used for research that have lived there since 1979.
Previously, local Beaufort County’s The Post and Courier newspaper, according to NBC News, reported that primates have escaped the island several times before, including in May of this year. And in 2016, 19 evaded Alpha Genesis security before they were secured six hours later.
As one user quipped in the comment section of the police department’s Nov. 4 statement, “Monkey Island Part Two: Monkey Mainland.”
(E! News and NBC News are both part of NBCUniversal.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (95487)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Fire devastated this NYC Chinatown bookshop — community has rushed to its aid
- School bus crash on Idaho highway under investigation
- Kagan says Congress has power to regulate Supreme Court: We're not imperial
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- North Korean leader Kim tours weapons factories and vows to boost war readiness in face of tensions
- Python hunters are flocking to Florida to catch snakes big enough to eat alligators
- Teen charged with murder in killing of NYC dancer O'Shae Sibley: Sources
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Search continues for beloved teacher who went missing 1 week ago
Ranking
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Lunchables adding fresh fruit to new snack tray, available in some stores this month
- Build the Perfect Capsule Wardrobe With 83% Off Deals From J.Crew
- Rita Ora and Taika Waititi Share Glimpse Inside Their Wedding on First Anniversary
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- What is heatstroke? Symptoms and treatment for this deadly heat-related illness
- Charles Ogletree, longtime legal and civil rights scholar at Harvard Law School, dies at 70
- Pope Francis starts Catholic Church's World Youth Day summit by meeting sexual abuse survivors
Recommendation
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
Michigan man wins $1.1 million on Mega Money Match lottery ticket
Wisconsin judge orders the release of records sought from fake Trump elector
Miranda Lambert Shares Glimpse Inside Her Summer So Far With Husband Brendan McLoughlin
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz: How to watch pay per view, odds and undercard fights
Jake Paul's fight vs. Nate Diaz: Prediction as oddsmakers predict mismatch
Fire devastated this NYC Chinatown bookshop — community has rushed to its aid