Monkeys that had been being transported Tuesday on a Mississippi freeway escaped after the truck carrying them overturned, and all however one have since been killed, authorities stated.
The crash occurred roughly 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson. It is not clear what prompted the truck to overturn. Video confirmed monkeys crawling via the tall grass on the aspect of Interstate 59 simply north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with picket crates labeled “stay animals” crumpled and strewn about.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Division stated the rhesus monkeys had been from Tulane College, and initially wrote in a post on Fb that “they’re aggressive to people and so they require PPE to deal with.” It is not clear what number of monkeys had been initially within the truck or what number of had been killed. The sheriff’s division later said the motive force of the truck relayed that “the monkeys had been harmful and posed a menace to people,” and that it took “acceptable actions after being on condition that data.”
Rhesus monkeys, which generally weigh round 16 kilos, are among the many most medically studied animals on the planet. The escaped monkeys carry illnesses however weren’t infectious, authorities stated. They had been being housed on the Tulane College Nationwide Biomedical Analysis Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely gives primates to scientific analysis organizations, based on the college.
The monkeys “are offered to different analysis organizations to advance scientific discovery,” a Tulane College spokesperson informed CBS Information in a press release. “The primates in query belong to a different entity and aren’t infectious. We’re actively collaborating with native authorities and can ship a group of animal care consultants to help as wanted.”
Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries can also be on web site, based on the sheriff’s division. It is not clear who the monkeys belong to or the place they had been going.
Rhesus macaque primates have brown fur with purple faces and ears. They’ve close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. Rhesus macaques had been imported to america within the Seventies for biomedical analysis in laboratories, based on the New England Primate Conservancy. Rhesus macaques are “daring, extraordinarily curious and adventurous monkeys,” and the species is “extremely adaptable to coexisting alongside people,” the conservancy says.
The sheriff’s division initially stated the monkeys had been carrying illnesses, together with herpes, however Tulane College stated in a press release that the monkeys “aren’t infectious.” Legislation enforcement officers didn’t instantly reply to AP’s request for clarification.
In November 2024, 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an Alpha Genesis analysis facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina, prompting warnings for close by residents to safe their doorways and home windows. They were all eventually safely captured as of January. Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, informed CBS Information in November final yr {that a} caretaker inadvertently did not safe a door on the enclosure, permitting the monkeys to roam free.
