40 Monkeys Escape from South Carolina Research Facility, Residents Warned to Secure Homes

On Wednesday night, a significant incident occurred at the Alpha Genesis research facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina, where 40 monkeys escaped from their enclosures. The Yemassee Police Department has issued a warning to local residents, advising them to secure their doors and windows to prevent the monkeys from entering their homes.

The monkeys broke loose from the facility, prompting authorities to set up traps and use thermal imaging cameras to locate the escaped primates. Residents are urged to contact 911 immediately if they spot any of the monkeys and are advised not to approach them.

Alpha Genesis is a company that breeds monkeys and provides nonhuman primate products and bio-research services globally. Their clinical trials include research on progressive brain disorders. While the specific breed of the escaped monkeys was not identified, the company typically works with cynomolgous, rhesus, and capuchin monkeys.

The Yemassee Police Department is working closely with Alpha Genesis personnel to recapture the monkeys. This is not the first incident of its kind; eight years ago, 19 primates escaped from the same facility but were recaptured within six hours. In a separate incident last year in Pennsylvania, dozens of lab monkeys escaped after a truck crash, but all were later accounted for.

Alpha Genesis has also been involved in other significant projects, including overseeing a colony of 3,500 rhesus monkeys on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, known as “Monkey Island,” following a federal contract awarded last year.