Escaped Monkeys Update: They’re Having an “Adventure”

YEMASSEE, South Carolina – South Carolina officials provided an update Friday after 43 monkeys escaped from the Primate Research Center earlier this week.

Officials said monkeys bred for medical research were spotted in the forest near the scene and workers are using food to try to catch them.

“They’re very social apes and travel in groups, so when the first pair walks out the door, the others tend to just follow,” Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told CBS News.

Vestergaard said his main goal is to return the monkeys safely without any other problems.

“I think they’re having an adventure,” he said.

The rhesus monkeys escaped Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee did not fully lock the door while she was feeding and checking on them, officials said.

The primates are all very young females, weighing 6 to 7 pounds, according to police. They have never been used for testing due to their age and are too young to carry diseases.

“The public is advised to avoid the area as these animals are described as skittish and any additional noise or movement may prevent their safe capture,” police said. “Residents are urged to keep their doors and windows securely closed and report any sightings immediately by dialing 911. Please do not attempt to approach these animals under any circumstances.”

Police added Friday that the primates exhibit “calm and playful behavior, which is a positive indicator,” adding that company staff are closely monitoring the monkeys while maintaining a distance as they try to catch them safely.

PREVIOUSLY: 43 monkeys escaped from a primate research center in South Carolina

The Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center is “one of the largest and most comprehensive non-human primate research facilities in the United States,” according to its website. He also controls a colony of more than 3,000 monkeys on Morgan Island, known as Monkey Island, off the coast of South Carolina.

26 primates escaped in 2016

In 2018, the USDA fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 in part after officials said 26 primates escaped from a facility in Yemassee in 2014 and another 19 escaped in 2016.

The company was also fined for the escape of individual monkeys, as well as for the killing of one monkey by others when it was placed in the wrong social group, according to the USDA report.

The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the USDA on Thursday asking them to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as repeat offenders. The group was involved in a fine against the company in 2018.

“The sheer carelessness that allowed these 40 monkeys to escape not only endangered the safety of the animals, but also endangered the people of South Carolina,” wrote Michael Badkey, the group’s executive director.

The USDA, which has inspected the complex 10 times since 2020, did not immediately respond to the letter. The last federal inspection of the facility in May found there were about 6,700 primates on site and no problems.