It’s still bananas out there!
Dozens of monkeys that escaped from a medical research center in South Carolina were still on the lam Friday — with some spotted dangling from nearby trees — after a worker left their enclosure door open, officials said.
A total of 43 of the furry fugitives broke out of the Alpha Genesis lab in Yemassee Thursday and have been high tailing it around the rural area for more than 24 hours, according to police, who urged neighbors to keep their distance.
Some of the female Rhesus monkeys — which weigh roughly six pounds and eat fruit and insects — were spotted scampering across the roof of a warehouse and gathering next to a local food pantry, according to WSAV.com
The primates busted free Thursday morning after a worker cleaning their enclosure left the door partially open, the lab’s CEO Greg Westergaard said.
“The incident yesterday involved a new enclosure, and occurred because the caretaker who was doing routine cleaning and feeding failed to secure two separate doors. It was purely human error,” Westergaard told NBC News.
None of the monkeys had been captured as of Friday afternoon, but Westergarrd said the animals are likely to return on their own.
The center told police that the monkeys were too young to carry disease — though it wasn’t immediately clear if they were incapable of contracting disease or had not been introduced to any during clinical trials.
Still, police warned locals not to approach the primates.
“These animals are highly sensitive and easily startled, we recommend that the public avoid the area to prevent frightening them further,” Yemassee police said in a statement.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.
In 2022, 11 monkeys escaped from the same research center through a broken chain link fence, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
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