The crash in Pennsylvania of a truck transporting 100 monkeys to a laboratory allowed four of them to escape, triggering a search by police who warned the public not to approach the animals.
The vehicle collided with a dump truck near Danville, Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, en route to a laboratory in Florida.
Police said on Twitter that four moneys had “fled the crash scene into the surrounding area.”
Three were later captured, but one was still on the loose on Saturday morning.
The local WNEP news site said a police helicopter with thermal cameras was used to track down the cynomolgus monkeys, while officers on the ground used powerful flashlights.
Pennsylvania State Police released an image of one primate perched in a tree off Route 54 during the freezing cold night.
A reporter said police surrounded the monkey before shots were fired from an unidentified weapon.
“Crash Update: There is still one monkey unaccounted for, but we are asking that no one attempt to look for or capture the animal,” police troopers said on Twitter on Saturday morning.
Cynomolgus monkeys — also known as long-tailed macaques — can cost up to $10,000 each and have been in demand for coronavirus vaccine research, according to the New York Times. They can live for 30 years in captivity.
Investigators shared this photo with @WNEP showing one of the monkeys that escaped from a truck after a wreck off of I-80 this afternoon. Troopers and Game Wardens are still trying to catch 4 monkeys, including this one. pic.twitter.com/zsFZdQjawP
— Marshall Keely (@MKeelyNews) January 22, 2022
RT reports: While it is unclear whether any animals were injured, some of them were confirmed to have escaped. The authorities have launched a search and asked for the public’s assistance. At least four of the monkeys – reported to be long-tailed macaques – are believed to be on the loose.
The incident may have endangered not only the animals in question, but the public too, according to the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). If the runaway monkeys suffered injuries in the accident, this would make them more likely to be a threat to any person they might encounter, because fear can cause aggression.
PETA also expressed the concern that they might carry pathogens that could be spread to humans.
“There is no way to ensure that monkeys are virus-free, and state veterinary and other records show that monkeys in laboratories in the US have been found with tuberculosis, Chagas disease, cholera, and MRSA,” primatologist and PETA science advisor, Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel said in a statement.
