In this Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 photo, a rhesus macaques monkey observes kayakers as they navigate along the Silver River in Silver Springs, Fla. Wildlife managers in Florida say they want to remove the roaming monkeys from the state in light of a new study published Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, that finds some of the animals are excreting a virus that can be dangerous to humans.Photo by John Raoux/AP Photo

43 monkeys escape from a South Carolina lab, but pose 'almost no danger to the public': police chief

'They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish'

07 Nov 2024, 19:38 by Jeffrey Collins · National Post

Forty-three monkeys escaped from a compound used for medical research in South Carolina but the nearby police chief said there is “almost no danger” to the public.

“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.

The Rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility Wednesday when a new employee didn’t fully shut an enclosure, Alexander said.