A truck hauling “aggressive” rhesus monkeys carrying hepatitis C, herpes and COVID overturned Tuesday in Mississippi, allowing them to escape.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said most of the escaped animals had been destroyed or remained in their cages, but one was still on the loose.
“The monkeys are approximately 40 (pounds), they are aggressive to humans and they require PPE to handle,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said on Facebook.
The truck was coming from Tulane University when it crashed on Interstate 59. The sheriff said Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries responded along with area law enforcement officials.
People were warned to not approach the loose monkey and to call 911 if they see it.
“Tulane University has been notified and will send a team to pick up the monkeys tomorrow (the ones that are still caged),” the sheriff’s department said.
Tulane issued a statement that non-human primates at its National Biomedical Research Center “are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery.”
They said the monkeys belonged to another entity and were not likely to spread infections to people.
“We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed,” the Tulane spokesperson said.
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