More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in Yemassee, South Carolina on Thursday, creating a real-life Jumanji-movie scenario. However, local authorities assured residents there was “almost no danger” to the public.
The incident occurred Wednesday when a new staff member failed to secure an enclosure at the Alpha Genesis Biomedical Research Center in Yemasi, allowing the rhesus macaques, described by police as “skittish,” to escape.
“Residents are strongly advised to secure doors and windows to prevent these animals from entering their homes,” the Yemassee Police Department posted on Facebook.
“They are not infected with any disease. They are harmless and a little bit skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said.
Officials said all 43 primates that escaped were young female primates, each weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms), and too small to undergo any testing procedures.
Alpha Genesis employees are “monitoring primates and working to lure them into food,” police said in a statement released earlier in the day.
The local police department said on social media that they had sent out search teams to find the monkeys and were “working to trap them with food.”
“Residents are urged to keep their doors and windows securely closed and to report any sightings immediately by dialing 911. Please do not attempt to approach these animals under any circumstances,” they added.
Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard expressed his disappointment about the escape and told CBS News that he was “hoping for a happy ending” with the primates returning voluntarily.
Westergaard confirmed that the incident occurred when a staff member neglected to properly lock the enclosure door, enabling the primates to escape. “It’s really like follow-the-leader. You go one and the others go,” he added.
Alpha Genesis is a major non-human primate research facility, serving the biomedical research field.
Their website indicates that the facility spans over 100 acres dedicated to research and breeding activities, making it one of the nation’s largest purpose-built monkey facilities.