YEMASSEE, S.C. — Staff at a South Carolina breeding facility dedicated to monkeys used in medical research have successfully recaptured five additional monkeys that escaped from their enclosure last week due to a partially locked gate.
As of Monday afternoon, authorities reported that 30 out of 43 escaping Rhesus macaques from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee have returned safely and unharmed.

The majority of the monkeys appear to have remained near the compound since their escape on Wednesday. Employees of Alpha Genesis have been monitoring their movements and enticing them back with food, according to officials.
They have been interacting with the monkeys that stayed within the enclosure, using soothing sounds to maintain a connection with the primates still inside the fenced area.

Veterinarians are assessing the health of the recaptured animals, with preliminary findings indicating that they are all in good condition. Alpha Genesis has committed to ongoing recovery efforts until all the monkeys are back in the facility located roughly a mile from downtown Yemassee and around 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia.

These monkeys are roughly the size of a domestic cat and are all female, each weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms). Rhesus macaques have been utilized by humans in scientific research since the late 19th century, and studies suggest that this species diverged from a common ancestor with humans approximately 25 million years ago, sharing around 93% of the same DNA.

Authorities, along with Alpha Genesis and federal health officials, have stated that these monkeys present no threat to public health. The facility specializes in breeding monkeys for sale to medical institutions and research organizations worldwide.

Members of the public who encounter the monkeys are advised to maintain a safe distance and refrain from using drones in the vicinity to avoid disturbing the animals.