Last 4 Monkeys That Escaped in South Carolina Are Captured

Nearly three months after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in a heavily wooded area in South Carolina, the final four missing monkeys have been captured, ending a story fit for a Disney movie or a science fiction drama.

Within two weeks of fleeing their enclosure on Nov. 6, 2024, after a caretaker had failed to latch a shelter’s doors, 39 of the monkeys, a species known as rhesus macaques, had been captured and returned safely to Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, S.C., about 60 miles west of Charleston.

But four stragglers continued to wander for weeks and braved thick, wooded terrain and a rare snowstorm before they were found and captured in good health, Greg Westergaard, the chief executive of Alpha Genesis Inc., said Friday in a social media post from the Yemassee Police Department.

Mr. Westergaard called it “a real team and community effort.” When, where and how the final four monkeys were captured was not immediately clear. Alpha Genesis and the police did not immediately respond to an email and a phone call on Friday night seeking more information.

The rhesus macaques, which weigh six to seven pounds, are often used for experiments. Alpha Genesis cares for them and works with clients that are looking to do studies on primates, its website said.

After the 43 monkeys escaped, the surrounding community was told to not approach or attempt to interact with them and were instead advised to call the authorities. Traps baited with food were set and proved to be effective. Several of the monkeys were found in or near the traps, the police said.

Alpha Genesis reported that the monkeys that had been captured in mid-November were in good health. They ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and danced and ran around in the trees, the company said.

The rogue monkeys could be heard cooing to one another. But it was not the first time animals have escaped Alpha Genesis, which sits on about 100 acres and houses about 7,000 monkeys for scientific research. The Department of Agriculture fined the company more than $12,000 in 2017 in part because of failures to contain the animals.

“We’re not strangers to seeing monkeys randomly,” said David Paul Murray, a Yemassee Town Council member. “It’s something you don’t really think about until one runs across the road and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’”

Teddy Rosenbluth and Sara Ruberg contributed reporting.