(Reuters) – After 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in a small South Carolina town, police on Thursday urged residents to lock their homes and avoid approaching the animals under any circumstances.
In a statement posted on the (NASDAQ:) Facebook page, the Yemassee, South Carolina, police department said the young female rhesus macaque escaped on Wednesday. Police in the town of about 2,000 people are helping employees of the research center, Alpha Genesis, search for the escapees.
Police did not say how the monkeys escaped. Alpha Genesis did not respond to emails from Reuters or return calls.
Police said they had been told by Alpha Genesis that the monkeys had never been used for testing and were too young to carry the disease.