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HEIDELBERG, Miss. (AP) – The last of several monkeys that escaped a Mississippi highway crash has been found and captured, authorities said Thursday.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said in a statement to The Associated Press that residents living near the crash site called authorities to report the animal's whereabouts, and it was later “recovered safely.”
This was the last monkey left after a truck rollover on Interstate 59 on Oct. 28. Five monkeys died as police searched the area immediately after the accident. Footage from cameras worn by officers showed a chaotic scene where the monkeys escaped from their crates and ran across a grassy interstate, with some monkeys running toward cars and semis on the interstate.
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Two other monkeys that evaded police at the crash site were shot dead by civilians who claimed they were protecting their families and neighborhoods. Authorities had warned residents to stay away from rhesus macaques, as they are known to be aggressive.
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The last monkey on the loose was found Wednesday afternoon near a home in the Fosberg area, just east of where the truck was wrecked. Brandi Smith told WDAM-TV she saw the monkey when her dog started barking. Neighbors called 911. Employees from a company that was transporting a truckload of monkeys arrived to tranquilize the monkeys, Smith said.
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The monkeys are housed at Tulane University's National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, which regularly provides primates to scientific research institutions, the university said. Tulane said it was not transporting the monkeys and that the monkeys are not affiliated with the university.
PreLabs, which describes itself on its website as a biomedical research support organization, said in a statement that the animals were being transported to legally accredited research facilities. The monkeys were found to have no known illnesses. Tulane said 13 of the monkeys that were not killed arrived at their original destination last week.
The escape is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of animal research and how confidentiality agreements keep the public from knowing important facts about animal research.
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