THE APE ESCAPE

Police Warn Public After 40 Monkeys Escape Research Lab

Residents have been advised to keep doors and windows firmly secured.

Police in South Carolina are trying to hunt down and capture a group of 40 monkeys that escaped from a research facility in the Lowcountry. Yemassee Police Department said in a Facebook post Wednesday that multiple officers, plus staff from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center, were searching for the runaways using thermal imaging cameras (and, presumably, some big bunches of bananas). “Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” it said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.” Social media posters said it was not the first ape escape from the Alpha Genesis facility, which, according to its website, “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services world-wide.”