Locals in a South Carolina town in the US have been urged to stay indoors and keep their windows closed as 43 monkeys have escaped from a medical testing lab.
The rhesus macaques broke out of Alpha Genesis, a primate research centre in Yemassee, on Wednesday.
Police said that the company had located the “skittish” group and were attempting to entice them with food.
The primates, each weighing about 3.2kg, are currently “hanging out in the woods”, according to the Alpha Genesis’s CEO.
The rhesus macaques broke out of Alpha Genesis research centre (stock pic)
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Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News the escape was “frustrating” after a keeper left open a door to their outdoor enclosure.
“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” Mr Westergaard said.
He explained that from a group of 50 monkeys, seven stayed behind whilst 43 fled through the open door.
The chief executive said he was “hoping for a happy ending” and that the monkeys would return to the facility on their own.
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Police have warned people against trying to take them home with them (stock pic)
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Police have deployed thermal imaging cameras and set traps to locate the escaped primates, whilst warning residents to keep doors and windows secured.
“Just don’t try to take these things home or pet them,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander told the Post and Courier. “That’s a felony because they don’t belong to you.”
The young females have never been used for testing and are too young to carry disease, police said.
Authorities have urged residents who spot the monkeys to ring 999 immediately and avoid approaching them.
Alpha Genesis is one of America’s largest primate research facilities, housing more than 6,000 monkeys for clinical trials and biomedical research.
The facility has a history of similar incidents. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped but were recaptured after six hours.
In 2014, 26 primates broke free and remained loose for 48 hours.
The company was fined £9,400 by the federal government in 2018 over six violations, including four involving escapes from the facility.