Officials in South Carolina on Friday announced the capture of the last four of 43 escaped research monkeys. The primates survived on their own for two months in the woods. What lured these monkeys on the lam back into captivity? In part, good ol’ PB and J.
On November 6, an employee at Alpha Genesis did not fully lock the monkeys’ enclosure, according to police. The Yemassee facility breeds the monkeys for medical research.
Workers are supposed to lock and latch one gate before opening another. This time, a worker left three gates and latches unsecured. And since monkeys will be monkeys, they slipped out.
The runaways were all female rhesus macaque monkeys. The species is small—about the size of a cat. Most weigh about seven pounds.
After their stunning escape, the monkeys mainly hung around near the facility. Within two weeks, workers captured 39 of the jailbreakers.
During the remaining four monkeys’ two and a half months of freedom, the area saw its first snow in seven years. Some places accumulated up to three inches. Despite the chill, the monkeys continued to evade capture.
Employees kept an eye on the monkeys and set out humane traps. Most of the macaques were lured back with food. They gobbled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and “monkey biscuits.” The biscuits are a high-protein Purina Monkey Chow specially formulated for the rhesus macaques.
Alpha Genesis breeds monkeys to sell to medical facilities and other researchers. Humans have used the species for scientific research since the late 1800s.
Locals call the compound “the monkey farm.” It is about 25 miles from historic downtown Beaufort and about 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia.
The newly recaptured monkeys appear to be in good health according to Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard. In a statement relayed by Yemassee police on social media, he thanked the local community for help in finding the monkeys. He called it “a real team and community effort.”
