43 monkeys escape research center, prompting warning to residents

YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) - Police are working to recapture 43 monkeys who escaped a research center in South Carolina.

Officials said dozens of rhesus macaques escaped their enclosure at the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center Wednesday afternoon.

The Yemassee Police Department is now working with the facility to recapture them.

A spokesperson from Alpha Genesis said the monkeys are very young females and weigh less than 10 pounds.

According to its website, Alpha Genesis specializes in “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services.” The website also claims their research uses “specific pathogen free” primate models.

They said these monkeys have never been used for testing given their young age, small size and the fact that they are too young to carry disease.

Traps have been set up around the area. Yemassee police were on-site utilizing thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to locate the animals.

Staff at the facility are working to entice the monkeys with food.

Residents are advised to keep all doors and windows secured to prevent the primates from entering inside homes.

Because of how skittish the monkeys are, officials said any additional noises or movement could prevent them from being safely captured.

Longtime business owners and neighbors in Yemassee say an escaped monkey is not a shocker and many are used to the facility being nearby.

“That was the surprise, the number. We’ve seen one or two even beside the road before but we’ve never heard of this many getting loose,” Lowcountry Living Room Owner Charlotte Murray says.

“Insane, somebody must’ve left the door open or something, I don’t know. Everyone in Yemassee has pretty much been talking about it all day today,” Jerry’s Tow and Garage Owner Jay Cook says. “We know that road as Monkey Farm Road.”

If anyone locates one of the escaped primates, authorities said not to interact with them and instead call 911 immediately.

The company also oversees a colony of more than 3,000 monkeys on Morgan Island, known as Monkey Island, off the South Carolina coast.