39 escaped monkeys captured in South Carolina, 4 remain on the loose

Nearly all of the rhesus macaque monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab have been recovered.

As of Monday evening, 39 of the 43 furry runaways have been successfully captured. That leaves four free after the cohort broke loose from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemasee on Nov. 6.

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Drew Martin/The State via TNS via Getty Images – PHOTO: In this Sept. 20, 2024, file photo, an infant rhesus macaque is held by an adult on Morgan Island, in Beaufort County, South Carolina, just north of St. Helena Island.

The primates had been seen close to the research facility on Saturday, and seemed to be in good spirits and good health, “dancing and running about in the trees,” according to a statement from the Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard.

Two were recovered the following day.

“My background is in behavioral primatology and I was present when the two animals were recovered today,” Westergaard said on Sunday. “I can attest with absolute certainty that their spirits were high and they showed all the outward signs of being happy well-adjusted monkeys.”

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