Three Rhesus monkeys remain on the loose in eastern Mississippi on Wednesday, Oct. 29, after escaping from a truck that crashed while transporting them from Tulane University in New Orleans a day earlier. Contrary to initial reports, the monkeys were not exposed to any infectious diseases, the university said.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department shared on Facebook that one monkey had escaped after the crash, but later updated the post after “officials from Tulane were able to get inside the truck and get a correct count.”
Out of the 21 monkeys that were in the overturned vehicle, thirteen have been recaptured, five are dead and three are still missing, according to WBLT, a television station based in Jackson, Mississippi.
An October 29 statement from Tulane confirmed that the monkeys being transported were not owned by the university, and that a team of animal care experts had been sent to the crash site.
“The nonhuman primates were not being transported by Tulane, not owned by Tulane, and not in Tulane’s custody,” the statement provided to USA TODAY.
Escaped monkeys not carrying diseases, Tulane says
Shortly after the crash on Oct. 28, the sheriff’s officials alerted the public on social media that the monkeys were believed to “carry hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID,” based on the comments made by the driver of the truck transporting the monkeys.
But Tulane University denied any contagion, stating that the monkeys were “not infectious.” In a statement issued Oct. 29, the university clarified that the primates in question were not carrying any diseases and had recently undergone checkups confirming they were pathogen-free.
