Picture: supplied
More than half of rhesus macaque monkeys that escaped from a US research lab have been recaptured.
Overseas media reports say that of Sunday evening (local time), 25 of 43 monkeys that escaped from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Centre in Yemasee, South Carolina, had been recaptured.
“A sizable group remains active along the fence line and at this time have bedded down in the trees for the night,” a spokesperson for the Yemassee Police Department said.
A team of veterinarians, which have been brought in to exam them, said all the recovered primates are in good health.
EARLIER STORY: 43 monkeys on the loose in South Carolina
On Saturday, Yemasee officials said they had recovered one of the escaped monkeys.
“She is well and having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard said in a statement.
Yemasee officials said that “a significant number” of the escaped primates were located in a facility near where the rescued animal was found and were “jumping back and forth over the facility’s fence.”
“Alpha Genesis management and staff are on-site, actively feeding and monitoring the animals, and they will continue these efforts throughout the weekend,” the town’s officials said in a statement.
“The primates continue to interact with their companions inside the facility, which is a positive sign,” they added.
Westergaard said the monkeys were having a nap on Saturday afternoon.
“They are coming down to the ground a bit more now. It is a slow process,” he said.
The creatures escaped when a new employee at the Alpha Genesis centre left the door to their enclosure open, Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes said during a briefing last week with town officials.
The primates are all very young females weighing 6 to 7 pounds each who have never been tested, according to police.
There is no public health threat, they said.
Recovery efforts will continue until all the monkeys are recovered, police said, and asked the public to call the emergency helping 911 (US only) if they spot any of the remaining animals.
“We thank the public for their co-operation in avoiding the area and kindly ask that drones not be used in the vicinity,” police said.
