If you need inspiration to let loose and relax this weekend, look no further than a free-roaming pack of monkeys who escaped from their South Carolina research facility on Wednesday and were still “playfully exploring” with their stride as of Friday afternoon discovered freedom.
In an update Friday, Yemassee, SC police said the 43 young female rhesus monkeys remain around the perimeter of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Facility. “The primates exhibit calm and playful behavior, which is a positive indication,” the department said.
The happy furballs were released after a caretaker “failed to secure the doors” at the facility.
Alpha Genesis employees keep an eye on the refugees and try to lure them back in with food. But instead of taking the bait, the primates played on the fence, still maintaining contact with the monkeys inside by cooing at them.
“They're just crazy monkeys jumping back and forth and playing with each other,” Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News on Thursday. “It looks a bit like a playground here.”
Yemassee police note that the monkeys are very young and small: only about 6 to 7 pounds each. They have not yet been used for testing, do not carry any disease and pose no health risk to the public. However, residents of the area have been advised to keep their doors and windows locked in case the tiny primates try to pay a visit.
This isn't the first time – or even the second time – that Alpha Genesis has struggled to keep its monkeys under control. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the company $12,600 for violations between 2014 and 2016, including four monkey outbreaks. A total of 30 monkeys escaped in those incidents. One has never been found.
