40 monkeys escape from Alpha Genesis research facility in South Carolina

Dozens of monkeys are on the loose in South Carolina. Residents in Yemassee and surrounding areas have been "strongly advised" to secure all doors and windows to prevent the animals from entering their homes.

Forty monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis, a primate research facility in Yemassee, a small town about 26 miles from Beaufort, Yemassee Police Department said in a post on Facebook. The department did not specify which monkeys escaped the facility. The company's website says it conducts research projects for government, university, and private industry clients with cynomolgus, rhesus, and capuchin monkeys.

"Traps have been set up around the area, and the Yemassee Police Department is currently on-site utilizing thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to locate the animals," the post department said in an update around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, adding the department is collaborating with Alpha Genesis personnel to resolve this situation.

Yemassee Town Administrator Matt Garnes, meanwhile, told The Hampton County Guardian, part of Bluffton Today and the USA TODAY NETWORK, that the "smaller type of breeds" escaped.

"We're not talking about Caesar of the Planet of the Apes," Garnes told the Guardian. "But if you spot any primates, don't approach or try to interact with them, or feed them, call 911."

Authorities advised residents to "refrain from approaching" the monkeys and immediately call 911 if they see any of the escaped animals.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, in an alert Wednesday evening, said it was working with local authorities to locate the escaped primates, adding the "public’s assistance is appreciated in the effort to locate and return these animals to their enclosures."

It is not known how the primates escaped the facility, and Alpha Genesis did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for a comment on the incident. It is also not known if the monkeys were carrying any disease.

However, this is not the first time that the monkeys escaped the facility. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis and were captured almost six hours after their jailbreak, according to The Post and Courier, while 26 monkeys escaped in December 2014.

How many monkeys does Alpha Genesis have?

Alpha Genesis has approximately 5,000 monkeys across two sites from Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Species include marmosets, cynomolgus and rhesus macaques, African Greens, and several New World species.

While the primates escaped from the site on Castle Hall Road in Beaufort County, Alpha Genesis also has a site in neighboring Hampton County, per the Guardian.

What is Alpha Genesis?

Alpha Genesis Inc. describes itself as the "world’s premier provider of the finest nonhuman primate products and services" on its website.

The facility says its "experienced and caring staff" is "dedicated to conducting humane research with nonhuman primates to advance knowledge in primate biology and to address human health concerns."

Alpha Genesis President and CEO Dr. Greg Westergaard told The Hampton County Guardian during a 2011 interview that the facility is "primarily a breeding facility," and that they raise the animals for "research purposes."

"Our overall goal is monkey health and monkey reproduction," Westergaard told the Guardian. "We mostly raise animals for research purposes. We do some behavioral research here, and we do studies that are fairly low impact, like drawing blood."

"None of the animals here are infected with any diseases, and the studies don't represent any danger to the monkeys or the people here," the CEO had said.

Alpha Genesis was established in 1964 to provide animals for polio vaccine research, per the Guardian.

Animals raised in Yemassee are sold only to USDA-licensed research facilities, Alpha Genesis told the Guardian, where they are used in compliance with current legal and ethical practices to further vaccine development and cures for a wide range of diseases: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and more.

"I fully support alternatives to using animals for research… but I don't see any way around it at this time," Westergaard had said. "But I also support medical advancements that can help large numbers of people. Our goal is to keep the animals as healthy as possible and use as few as possible."

Alpha Genesis, on its website, states that it is AAALAC accredited (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) and has an extensive Ethics and Compliance Program to ensure that employees comply with all legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements.

However, at least five monkeys died at the facility between 2011 and 2012, per The Post and Courier.

Monkey Island

In March of 2023, Alpha Genesis also took over the management of South Carolina's Morgan Island, also known as "Monkey Island," home to about 3,500 rhesus monkeys, The Post and Courier reported.

Located off the coast of Beaufort, Morgan Island covers an area of more than 2,000 acres and is off-limits to humans, according to Travel and Leisure.

Morgan Island was previously owned and managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, while the monkey colony was owned by the National Institute of Allergy + Infectious Diseases.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Michael M. DeWitt, Jr., Bluffton Today

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.