COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Forty-three monkeys bred for medical research that escaped from a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near the site and workers are using food to try to capture them, authorities said Friday .
Rhesus macaques I took a break for that Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee failed to fully lock a door while she was feeding and checking on them, officials said.
“They are very sociable monkeys and they travel in groups, so when the first pair comes out, the others tend to follow,” said Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis. CBS News.
Westergaard said his main goal was to return the monkeys safely and without further problems. “I think they’re having an adventure,” he said.
On Friday, the monkeys were exploring the exterior fence of the Alpha Genesis complex and cooing at the monkeys inside, police said in a statement.
“The primates are exhibiting calm and cheerful behavior, which is a positive indication,” the police statement said, adding that company employees are closely monitoring the monkeys while keeping their distance while they work to capture them safely.
The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing around 7 pounds (3 kilograms).
Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and police have all said the monkeys pose no risk to public health. The facility breeds monkeys to sell to medical researchers and others.
“They are not infected with any disease. They’re harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday.
Officials still recommend people living near the complex, about a mile from downtown Yemassee, close their windows and doors and call 911 if they see the monkeys. Approaching them could make them more nervous and harder to capture, officials said.
Eve Cooper, a biology professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder who has studied rhesus macaques, said the animals can be dangerous and urged people to keep their distance.
Rhesus macaque monkeys can be aggressive. And some carry the herpes B virus, which can be fatal to humans, Cooper said.
However, Alpha Genesis states on its website that it specializes in pathogen-free primates. Cooper noted that there are pathogen-free populations of rhesus macaques that have been quarantined and tested.
“I would give them a wide berth,” Cooper said. “They are unpredictable animals. And they can behave quite aggressively when scared.
Alpha Genesis supplies primates for research worldwide at its complex located about 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.
Locally, it is known as the “monkey farm”. And there's more fun than panic around Yemassee and its population of about 1,100 just off Interstate 95, about two miles from Auldbrass plantationa Frank Lloyd Wright house designed in the 1930s.
There have been escapes before, but the monkeys haven't caused problems, said William McCoy, owner of Lowcountry Horology, a clock repair shop.
“They normally come home because that’s where the food is,” he said.
McCoy has lived in Yemassee for about two years, and while he plans to stay away from the monkeys, he has his own light-hearted plan to get them back.
“I’m stocking up on bananas, maybe they’ll arrive,” McCoy said.
The Alpha Genesis complex is regularly inspected by federal officials.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Alpha Genesis $12,600, in part after authorities said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2014 and 19 more in were released in 2016.
The company's fine was also imposed due to individual monkey escapes as well as the killing of a monkey by others when it was placed in the wrong social group, according to a USDA report .
The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the USDA on Thursday asking the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as repeat violators. The group was involved in the fine imposed on the company in 2018.
“The blatant negligence 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 Budkie, 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, showed there were about 6,700 primates on site and there were no problems.
In a 2022 study, federal veterinarians reported that two animals died when their toes were trapped in structures and they were exposed to harsh weather conditions. They also found that the cages were not sufficiently secure. Inspectors said criminal charges, civil penalties or other penalties could follow if the problems are not resolved.
Since then, Alpha Genesis has undergone six inspections and minor issues have only been reported once.
In January 2023, the USDA said temperatures were outside the required range of 45 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 to 29.5 degrees Celsius) in some monkey cages at the complex. The inspection revealed moldy food in a trash can, sharp edges on a door that could cut an animal, and mud, food waste, used medical supplies, mechanical equipment, and general construction debris on the ground.
Supporters of medical research involving nonhuman primates have said they are critical to life-saving medical advancements, such as the creation of COVID-19 vaccines, because of their similarities to humans. Maintaining a domestic supply of animals is essential to avoid shortages for U.S. researchers.
Humans have been using the rhesus macaque for scientific research since the late 1800s. Scientists believe that rhesus macaques and humans split from a common ancestor about 25 million years ago and share about 93% of the same DNA.
These monkeys were launched into space on V2 rockets, used for AIDS research, had their genome mapped and became the stars of their own reality TV show. They were in such high demand in the early 2000s that a shortage led scientists to pay up to $10,000 per animal.
Outside of rats and mice, rhesus macaques are one of the most studied animals on the planet, said Dario Maestripieri, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago who wrote the 2007 book “Machiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Conquered the World. »
Animals are very family oriented and will side with their loved ones when fights break out. And they are experts at building political alliances in the face of threats from other apes. But they can be painful to watch. Monkeys with lower status in the hierarchy live in a constant state of fear and intimidation, Maestripieri said.
“In a way, they represent some of the worst aspects of human nature,” Maestripieri said.
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Lovan reported from Louisville, Kentucky, and Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
