In a remarkable turn of events in Yemassee, South Carolina, authorities announced on Friday that the final four of 43 escaped monkeys have been successfully captured after two months on the run. The monkeys, all female rhesus macaques, had been living in the woods following a rare snowstorm and were enticed back into captivity with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The escape occurred when an employee failed to fully lock the enclosure at Alpha Genesis, a facility known locally as “the monkey farm” where the monkeys are bred for medical research purposes.
Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard confirmed that the recaptured monkeys are in good health, as reported by Yemassee Police on social media.
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During their time in the wild, the monkeys experienced the first snowfall in seven years, with up to 3 inches (8 centimeters) of snow accumulating in the area.
The monkeys, approximately the size of a cat weighing around 7 pounds (3 kilograms), were mostly seen near the facility after their escape on November 6.
An oversight by a worker leaving the gates unlocked was cited as the cause of the escape, with all three gates and latches left unsecured according to Westergaard.
Despite the incident, authorities assured the public that the monkeys posed no risk to public health.
Efforts to lure the monkeys back included setting out humane traps and offering them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and specially formulated “monkey biscuits.”
Alpha Genesis, the facility where the monkeys are bred for research purposes, has a long history of supplying medical facilities and researchers with these animals for scientific studies dating back to the late 1800s.
The facility is located approximately a mile from downtown Yemassee and 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia.
