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More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, on Thursday, creating a real-life Jumanji-movie scenario. However, local authorities reassured residents that there was "almost no danger" to the public.
The incident occurred on Wednesday when a new staff member failed to properly secure an enclosure at the Alpha Genesis biomedical research center in Yemassee, allowing the rhesus macaques, described as "skittish" by police, to escape.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the Yemassee Police Department posted in a post on Facebook.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said.
The authorities said that all 43 escaped primates were young female primates, each weighing approximately 7 pounds (3 kilograms), and were too small to have undergone any testing procedures.
Alpha Genesis employees "have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food,” police said in an announcement released earlier in the day.
The local police department on social media said that they have dispatched search teams to track down the monkeys and were "working to entice them with food.”
"Residents are urged to keep their doors and windows securely closed and to report any sighting immediately by dialing 911. Please do not attempt to approach these animals under any circumstances," they added.
Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard expressed his disappointment about the escape and told CBS News that he is "hoping for a happy ending" with the primates voluntarily returning.
Westergaard confirmed that the incident occurred when a staff member neglected to properly lock an enclosure door, enabling the primates to escape. "It's really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go," he added.
Alpha Genesis is a prominent nonhuman primate research facility, serves the biomedical research sector.
Their website indicates that the establishment spans more than 100 acres dedicated to research and breeding activities, making it one of the nation's largest purpose-built monkey facilities.
