Heidelberg, Miss.. Three monkeys were still at large Wednesday in Mississippi after a The truck carrying the research animals overturned.
Officials said midday Tuesday that all but one of the escaped rhesus monkeys had been killed, but the Jasper County Police Department later said that officials from Tulane University, which was housing the monkeys, boarded the trailer Tuesday evening and determined that three monkeys had escaped.
Contrary to initial reports from occupants of the transport truck, who warned that the monkeys were dangerous and infected with various diseases, Tulane officials said the monkeys were not contagious, Sheriff Randy Johnson said in a news release. Johnson said the monkeys still need to be “neutered” because of their aggressive nature.
It was the truck Rhesus monkeys carrywhich typically weigh about 16 pounds (8 kg) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. It is not clear how many monkeys were on the truck, who owned them, who was transporting them, or where they were being taken and for what purpose.
The monkeys were housed at Tulane University’s National Center for Biomedical Research, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the New Orleans school. Tulane said in a statement that the university does not own or transport the monkeys.
The video shows monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden boxes labeled “live animals” crumpled and scattered.
Al-Sharif said that university officials will be in the area to search for the missing monkeys. All other monkeys were transferred to a facility in Louisiana.
The Sheriff’s Office warned that if anyone sees monkeys, they should contact authorities and not approach the animals.
The accident occurred about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the state capital, Jackson. It is not yet clear why the truck overturned.