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Residents in a small South Carolina town are finding themselves in the middle of a real-life game of Jumanji after 43 monkeys escaped Wednesday from a research facility.
The rhesus macaque primates are all still on the loose after escaping from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, town administrator Matthew Garnes said late Thursday morning.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a Facebook post.
In an update shortly before noon, police said Alpha Genesis had eyes on the monkeys and were attempting to entice them with food.
Police advised those who encounter the missing monkeys to refrain from interacting with them and immediately call 911. The young primates – all female and between 6 to 7 pounds – have never been used for testing and are too young to carry disease, police said.
“They are described as being very skittish and will congregate in groups,” Garnes said. The monkeys are nonviolent, but may be growing restless due to hunger, he said.
Traps to catch the animals on the run have been set and the police department was using thermal imaging cameras to find them. Police wereworking closely with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and state agricultural and wildlife officials.
CNN has reached out to Alpha Genesis for comment.
The Alpha Genesis test facility specializes in nonhuman primate research for the biomedical research community. It is one of the largest primate facilities in the country designed specifically for monkeys, with over 100 acres of land for research and breeding purposes, according to its website.
This is not South Carolina’s first rodeo with monkeys on the loose. The Post and Courier in Beaufort County reported that 19 monkeys escaped from the same facility in 2016, but they were returned after six hours.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
