Residents in a small South Carolina community are caught up in a real-life Jumanji game after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility on Wednesday.
The rhesus macaque primates who escaped from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee are still on the run, according to town administrator Matthew Garnes late Thursday morning (Friday AEST).
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the Yemassee Police Department wrote on Facebook.
According to a police update sent shortly before noon local time, Alpha Genesis had eyes on the monkeys and was attempting to attract them with food.
Police asked anyone who saw the missing monkeys to avoid contact with them and to phone 911 immediately. Police said the juvenile primates, all female and weighing between 6 and 7 pounds, had never been tested and were too immature to carry disease.
“They are described as being very skittish and will congregate in groups,” Garnes informed us.
The monkeys are harmless, but they may be becoming restless due to hunger, he said.
Traps to trap the animals on the run have been set, and the police department is utilizing thermal imaging cameras to locate them. Police were collaborating with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and state agricultural and wildlife officials.
The Alpha Genesis test facility conducts nonhuman primate research for the biomedical research community.
According to its website, it is one of the country’s largest primate facilities constructed solely for monkeys, with over 100 acres of area dedicated to research and breeding.
This isn’t the first rodeo in South Carolina when monkeys are loose. The Post and Courier in Beaufort County claimed that 19 monkeys escaped from the same institution in 2016, but were recaptured after six hours.