The authorities did however ask residents to lock their doors and windows.
From The Associated Press, November 7:
Forty-three monkeys escaped from a compound used for medical research in South Carolina but the nearby police chief said there is “almost no danger” to the public.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.
The Rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility Wednesday when a new employee didn’t fully shut an enclosure, Alexander said.
The monkeys are females weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms) and are so young and small that they haven’t been used for testing, police said.
Alpha Genesis employees “currently have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food,” police said in a statement issued around noon Thursday.
The company usually handles escapes on site, but the monkeys got outside the compound about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee, Alexander said.
“The handlers know them well and usually can get them back with fruit or a little treat,” Alexander told The Associated Press by phone.
But rounding up these escapees is taking some more work. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting up traps and using thermal imaging cameras to recapture the monkeys on the run, the chief said.
“There is almost no danger to the public,” Alexander said....
....MUCH MORE
Here's hoping they enjoy a brief staycation and don't evolve and migrate like the disease-ridden monkeys of Florida:
Meanwhile In Florida: Monkeys With Killer Poo
A quick reminder: there’s a band of feral monkeys running wild in Central Florida that carries a type of herpes lethal to humans. The mischievous simians—who are not shy around people—can transmit deadly disease with just a scratch, nip, or fling of poo.Which was followed by "Meanwhile In Florida: The Herpes Infected Monkeys Are Now Roaming Northeast Florida":
Last year, experts warned that the rhesus macaques are a public health threat. It now seems that the monkey business is likely to get worse, with a wildlife expert revealing that their population is set to double in the next few years....
Roving band of herpes-ridden monkeys now roaming northeast Florida...
And then, "Feral Herpes-Ridden Florida Monkeys Now Leaping Out of Trees":
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with where this is going, what with the disease-ridden simians bringing a Wizard of Oz vibe to life and the bipedal cloven-hoofed critters. strolling about.
Oh, did I forget to mention mention the goats?
Where's the pan flute?
All that makes this fellow seem perfectly normal:
Breaking Quarantine: "Baboon ready for vasectomy escapes with 2 female pals"
