Additional Coverage:
- Mississippi mom-of-5 guns down escaped lab monkey in her back yard over disease fears (irishstar.com)
Mississippi Woman Shoots Escaped Monkey, Citing Safety Concerns
Heidelberg, MS – A Mississippi mother shot and killed one of the rhesus monkeys that escaped last week from an overturned transport truck, stating she acted out of fear for her children’s safety. The incident occurred early Sunday morning near Heidelberg, Mississippi.
Jessica Bond Ferguson was alerted by her 16-year-old son to a monkey in their yard. She quickly retrieved her firearm and spotted the animal approximately 60 feet away. Concerns regarding potential diseases carried by the escaped primates led her to fire.
“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, a mother of five children ranging from 4 to 16 years old, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”
While initial reports suggested the monkeys might carry hepatitis, experts later dismissed these claims. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed via social media that a homeowner had located one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks subsequently taking possession of the animal.
The rhesus monkeys were en route from the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, a facility that supplies primates for scientific research. Tulane University clarified that the monkeys were not their property and they were not responsible for their transportation.
The truck transporting the monkeys crashed on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg last Tuesday. Authorities reported that most of the 21 monkeys perished in the crash, but a few survived. Tulane experts inspecting the trailer concluded that three monkeys had managed to escape the wreckage.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred roughly 100 miles from Jackson. Rhesus monkeys, typically weighing around 16 pounds, are among the most extensively researched animals globally. Post-crash footage showed monkeys moving through tall grass beside the interstate amidst the wreckage of wooden crates labeled “live animals.”
Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson stated that despite initial warnings from the truck occupants about the monkeys being dangerous and potentially carrying diseases, Tulane officials later confirmed the monkeys were not infectious. However, Johnson emphasized their aggressive nature still necessitated their “neutralization.” Tulane released a statement on Wednesday confirming the monkeys had recently undergone checkups and were pathogen-free.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks noted that rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive” and reported that conservation workers were collaborating with sheriff’s officials in efforts to locate the remaining animals.