JASPER COUNTY, Mississippi — A research monkey is still on the loose after a truck carrying multiple rhesus monkeys crashed and overturned on a highway in Mississippi, according to local law enforcement.
Officials warned that anyone who sees the roughly 40-pound monkey should not approach it. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said the truck driver warned them the monkeys could be aggressive toward humans and required personal protective equipment to handle.
While officials originally said the monkeys were being transported from Tulane University, a private university in New Orleans, Tulane clarified that the monkeys belong to a different organization and the university was not involved in their transportation. The university also stressed that the primates do not carry any infectious diseases, contrary to initial reports from the sheriff’s department.
“Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery. The primates in question belong to another entity, and they have not been exposed to any infectious agent,” Tulane University said in a statement. “The non-human primates were NOT being transported by Tulane, but we are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.”
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said in a post on social media that “all but one of the escaped monkeys has been destroyed” and it was working with an animal disposal company. It’s not clear how many monkeys were on the truck when it crashed.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is assisting local law enforcement at the scene.