In South Carolina, the last four monkeys that escaped from a laboratory in the city of Yemassee have been found and caught. The animals' health is good, even though the region was recently hit by a snowstorm.
The escaped monkeys are king macaques (Macaca mulatta), which were bred in the Yemassee laboratory for medical research. Last November from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center 43 females escapedbecause one of the employees did not close the door during feeding. A search operation was started immediately.
Shortly after the incident, most of the monkeys were captured as they explored the facility's outer fence. However, the search for the last animals continued until the second half of January. On Friday, January 24, representatives of the facility announced that they had been found and caught.
Macaca mulattaKanyshev Andrey/Shutterstock
Lured by a peanut butter sandwich
The search for escaped monkeys involved setting humane traps. Inside were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and special food. According to the facility's representatives, the animals lived in the forest and had to cope with the extreme frost and snowfall that hit South Carolina in recent days. After examining the macaques, scientists assessed their health as good.
King macaque monkeys are the size of a cat and weigh about three kilograms. The laboratory in Yemassee supplies them to facilities around the world for medical research. Scientists say DNA Macaca mulatta is 93 percent similar to humans.
Main photo source: Kanyshev Andrey/Shutterstock