Residents have been cautioned following reports of three “aggressive” monkeys escaping and being at large. Initially believed to be carrying hepatitis C, herpes, and Covid-19, locals were advised to avoid contact and to alert authorities if spotted.
The monkeys’ breakout occurred when a truck transporting them overturned on a highway north of Heidelberg in Mississippi, USA, last Tuesday. The driver informed law enforcement that the primates were hostile and carried contagious diseases.
Although officials from Tulane University, where the monkeys were housed, stated the animals were not infectious, Sheriff Randy Johnson emphasized the need to “neutralize” them due to their aggressive behavior.
While an undisclosed number of Rhesus monkeys were euthanized, three managed to escape the deputies and are currently on the run, as confirmed by Tulane University officials who inspected the scene.
These monkeys were accommodated at a research facility within the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center, which regularly supplies primates to scientific institutions. The incident involved primates belonging to a third party unaffiliated with the university, raising questions about the monkeys’ quantity, destination, and purpose of transport.
Video footage captured the monkeys moving through tall grass near Interstate 59 in Mississippi, with scattered wooden crates labeled as “live animals.”
Efforts are underway by university officials to locate the missing monkeys, while the remaining primates are being redirected to a facility in Louisiana. The circumstances surrounding the truck’s content, ownership, transport, and the crash itself remain unclear.
Rhesus monkeys, extensively used in medical research, are currently roaming the countryside approximately 100 miles north of Jackson, the state capital. The public is urged to avoid approaching them and to notify law enforcement if encountered.
The Mississippi highway patrol is actively investigating the incident.