One of the three research monkeys that from the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center that escaped from a crashed truck on Interstate 59 in Mississippi on Tuesday has been caught and is now in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife after someone discovered the primate in his backyard.
According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, the rhesus macaque was discovered outside a home in Heidelberg, Mississippi, early Sunday morning. Wildlife officials responded and captured the monkey.
Two monkeys that escaped from the crashed truck remain on the loose. Early reports by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department that claimed the primates were diseased were inaccurate. According to the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center, the macaques, which belong to another entity, are not infected with any diseases.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department says it put out the wrong information after the truck’s driver told deputies that the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans. Deputies also said the driver told them that they would need to wear personal protective equipment to handle the monkeys. That led to law enforcement killing five of the escaped monkeys.
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