A Rhesus Macaque monkey watches the traffic along the road to Tai Wai, Hong Kong, in 2004 and is the same species as those that escaped from the Alpha Genesis research lab in Yemassee, S.C., but returned on their own. File Photo by Paul Hilton/EPA-EFE
Jan. 25 (UPI) — The last of 43 escaped monkeys has returned to the Alpha Genesis research lab in Yemassee, S.C., nearly three months after an attendant accidentally left two doors unsecured.
The Rhesus Macaque monkey returned to the facility Friday and was in good condition, WCSC reported. The facility is about 95 miles west of Charleston.
The monkey’s return was confirmed by Alpha Genesis Chief Executive Officer Greg Westergaard.
The primates on the night of Nov. 6 escaped from their confines at the Alpha Genesis facility in Beaufort County but remained close to the facility.
Alpha Genesis officials said the monkeys did not pose a danger to the local community and were staying on and near the facility’s grounds.
Alpha Genesis staff continued to feed the monkeys, who gradually returned to their holding area.
All of the escaped monkeys are young females weighing between 6 and 7 pounds and were not subject to testing or carrying any diseases.
Their relatively small size and young age precluded them from testing.
Alpha Genesis in 2023 secured a federal contract to monitor and care for 3,500 rhesus monkeys that live on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, which commonly is known as “Monkey Island.”
The 43-monkey escape generated strong interest nationally and locally but did not require recovery teams to capture them as they would return on their own and posed no threat to the local community.