Authorities in South Carolina have successfully recaptured the last four of 43 escaped monkeys after a two-month ordeal in the woods. The rhesus macaque monkeys, all females, managed to escape from their enclosure at Alpha Genesis, a facility known locally as 'the monkey farm,' where they are bred for medical research.
The monkeys made their escape on November 6th due to an employee inadvertently leaving the gates unlocked. Despite their time in the wild, the recaptured monkeys were found to be in good health, according to Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard.
During their time on the loose, the monkeys faced unusual circumstances, including a rare snowstorm that blanketed the area with up to 3 inches of snow, the first in seven years. Despite their small size, weighing around 7 pounds, the monkeys managed to stay close to the facility.
Alpha Genesis, along with federal health officials and local police, assured the public that the escaped monkeys posed no risk to public health. Efforts to recapture the monkeys included setting out humane traps and using food as bait, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and 'monkey biscuits,' a high-protein diet specially formulated for rhesus macaques.
The facility breeds these monkeys for sale to medical facilities and researchers. Rhesus macaques have been used in scientific research for over a century, with scientists noting a genetic similarity of about 93% between these monkeys and humans, stemming from a common ancestor around 25 million years ago.
The Alpha Genesis compound is located approximately a mile from downtown Yemassee and about 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia. The successful recapture of all 43 escaped monkeys marks the end of a unique and eventful chapter in the local community.
