Monkeys that were being transported Tuesday on a Mississippi highway escaped after the truck carrying them overturned, and all but one have since been killed, authorities said.
The crash happened approximately 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson. It’s not clear what caused the truck to overturn. Video showed monkeys crawling through the tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said the rhesus monkeys were from Tulane University, and initially wrote in a post on Facebook that “they are aggressive to humans and they require PPE to handle.” It’s not clear how many monkeys were originally in the truck or how many were killed. The sheriff’s department later said the driver of the truck relayed that “the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans,” and that it took “appropriate actions after being given that information.”
Rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16 pounds, are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. The escaped monkeys carry diseases but were not infectious, authorities said. They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.
The monkeys “are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery,” a Tulane University spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious. We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.”
Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries is also on site, according to the sheriff’s department. It’s not clear who the monkeys belong to or where they were going.
Rhesus macaque primates have brown fur with red faces and ears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. Rhesus macaques were imported to the United States in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories, according to the New England Primate Conservancy. Rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys,” and the species is “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans,” the conservancy says.
The sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases, including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “are not infectious.” Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to AP’s request for clarification.
In November 2024, 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an Alpha Genesis research facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. They were all eventually safely captured as of January. Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News in November last year that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door at the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam free.
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