In an event that reads like something from a science fiction thriller, at least 43 rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, South Carolina.
The Rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility Wednesday when a new employee didn’t fully shut an enclosure, Alexander said.The monkeys are females weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms) and are so young and small that they haven’t been used for testing, police said.Alpha Genesis employees “currently have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food,” police said in a statement issued around noon Thursday.The company usually handles escapes on site, but the monkeys got outside the compound about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee, Alexander said.
Alpha Genesis is a facility dedicated to breeding monkeys for medical research. The escaped monkeys are reportedly too young to have been used in testing procedures.
Police officers were searching for the furry fugitives using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.The primates, according to police, are all very young females weighing 6 to 7 pounds each. There is no public health threat, police said.”The animals have never been used for testing due to their young age and size,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement Thursday. “A spokesperson from Alpha Genesis can confirm that these animals are too young to carry diseases.”
Local officials, including U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, are monitoring the situation closely and gathering information to inform constituents about the escape and ongoing search efforts.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who represents South Carolina in the House of Representatives, tweeted that her office is “diligently gathering all relevant information to keep our constituents informed regarding the recent escape of primates”.Macaques are known for being aggressive and competitive. However, Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said, in a news conference on Thursday, that “there is almost no danger to the public”.
While this incident does not appear to be a cause for concern, in the wake of COVID-19, monkeypox, and highly pathogenic avian influenza (e.g., bird flu), the public is a little bit nervous about escaped research monkeys.
Many people have read The Hot Zone, which details the origins of viral hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola, and discusses incidents involving monkeys, particularly the Reston virus found among imported monkeys in Virginia. While it does not feature an escape narrative, it highlights the dangers of zoonotic diseases that can emerge from primate populations.
Interestingly, back in 2020, when monkeys at a facility in India escaped with COVID-19 test samples, people made analogies to movies like 28 Days Later and Contagion.
The monkeys attacked a lab assistant before escaping with COVID-19 blood test samples in Dehli, India, as reported by the Times of India. One monkey was spotted sitting in a tree chewing on the sample collection kit, as locals said they feared the further spread of infection.While people first compared the coronavirus pandemic to the 2011 movie Contagion, in which a virus originating from a bat ends up infecting people in China, before spreading globally, it may now resemble another disaster movie.One Twitter user said: “Dudes be like ‘my life is a movie’ yeah b**** 28 Days Later.”
Hopefully, reality will not mirror fiction in this case…and this monkey business will soon be over.
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