Eight rhesus monkeys escaped on Tuesday when the truck carrying them and 15 of their mates from Louisiana to Florida overturned in Mississippi. Pour them out on Highway 59The authorities said.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office initially issued dire warnings.
“The monkeys weigh approximately 40 pounds, are aggressive toward humans, and require personal protective equipment to handle,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, referring to the personal protective equipment often worn in medical settings. “Don’t approach monkeys if you see one. Call 911. They do it They pose potential health threats and are aggressive“.
And the monkeys were It is being transported from Tulane University in Louisiana to a testing facility in Florida when the truck overturned near mile marker 117 north of Heidelberg, about 100 miles from Jackson, the state capital. The escapees escaped from their broken cages, while the rest remained stuck in their intact cages.
Believing the monkeys were infected with hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID, the Sheriff’s Office hunted down and “destroyed” all but three of the slippery monkeys. One high-tailed across the highway and “He went out into a wooded areaIt was still on Tuesday evening,” Sheriff Randy Johnson told WAPT-TV.
“All but one The escaped monkeys were destroyed“We have been in contact with the animal disposal company to help handle the situation,” the Sheriff’s Office announced in an update.
As it turns out, Johnson had bad information. Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds, and much of what his office said in the initial post turned out to be untrue.
“Tulane was not consulted regarding the destruction of the animals,” a university spokesperson told the sheriff’s office. “Nonhuman primates at Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are made available to other research organizations Advance scientific discovery. The primate in question belonged to another entity and had not been exposed to any infectious agent.
The university indicated that it would not transfer the monkeys, but would cooperate with local authorities to return them. Tulane employees arrived later Tuesday and counted people as they entered the wrecked truck, only to find that two more of the apes were missing, bringing the total number still wandering around to three.
The Sheriff’s Office backed off during the truck driver’s plea.
“The truck driver told local law enforcement that the monkeys are dangerous and pose a threat to humans,” the Sheriff’s Office said in another update. He added: “We took appropriate measures after we obtained that information from the person transporting the monkeys.”
With news wire services