Monkeys being transported on a Mississippi highway escaped captivity on Tuesday after the truck carrying them overturned, according to law enforcement.
All but one of the escaped monkeys were killed, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said in a post on Facebook, warning that the monkeys were “aggressive". It is not clear how many monkeys were originally in the truck.
The truck was carrying Rhesus monkeys, which typically weighed around 7.7kg and were among the most medically studied animals on the planet. They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provided primates to scientific research organisations, according to the university.
It was not clear who was transporting the monkeys or where they were being taken.
Video showed monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.
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". The sheriff's department responded by saying the driver of the truck told law enforcement the monkeys were dangerous and needed to be handled using personal protective equipment.
Tulane University said it was working with law enforcement. Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries was also on site.
The crash happened about 160km from the state capital of Jackson. It was not clear what caused the truck to overturn.
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