Additional Coverage:
- Last monkey on the loose after Mississippi highway crash is captured after being spotted by resident (nbcnews.com)
HEIDELBERG, Miss. – The great monkey escape of Jasper County has officially come to an end! Authorities confirmed Thursday that the final rhesus monkey, one of several that made a break for it after a dramatic highway crash, has been successfully located and captured.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks announced the good news in a statement to The Associated Press, detailing that a quick-thinking resident near the crash site called in the animal’s whereabouts, leading to its “successful recovery.”
This marks the end of a wild saga that began on October 28, when a truck carrying the primates overturned on Interstate 59. In the chaotic aftermath, five monkeys tragically lost their lives as law enforcement scrambled to contain the situation. Bodycam footage from officers painted a vivid picture of the scene: wooden crates busted open, monkeys darting across the grassy interstate median, some even venturing precariously close to passing cars and semi-trucks.
The escape took a darker turn when two other monkeys, initially evading capture, were later shot and killed by civilians who claimed they were protecting their families and communities. Officials had previously issued warnings to residents, cautioning them against approaching the rhesus monkeys due to their known aggressive tendencies.
The elusive final monkey was finally spotted Wednesday afternoon near a home in the Vossburg area, just east of the original wreck. Brandy Smith told WDAM-TV that her dog’s barks alerted her to the primate’s presence. Her neighbors promptly dialed 911, and according to Smith, workers from one of the companies involved in the cross-country transport arrived on the scene to tranquilize the monkey.
The monkeys were originally housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, a facility known for supplying primates to scientific research organizations. Tulane University has stated that they were not responsible for transporting the monkeys, nor do the animals belong to the university.
PreLabs, a biomedical research support organization, issued a statement confirming that the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility and were not carrying any known diseases. Thirteen of the monkeys that survived the crash reportedly reached their intended destination last week, according to Tulane.
This incident offers a rare peek into the often-private world of animal research, where confidentiality clauses frequently limit public access to crucial details about studies involving animals.