It’s been more than two months since 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, and on Friday it was announced that the final four missing primates were recaptured.
The monkeys escaped the research facility on Nov. 6, 2024, after one of the facility’s co-workers did not securely latch the enclosure door, according to The New York Times. Thirty-nine of the escaped rhesus macaques monkeys were recaptured within two weeks of the escape.
According to CNN, the monkeys are from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center which specializes in nonhuman primate research for biomedical research. It is one of the largest primate facilities in the U.S. and has over 100 acres of land for research and breeding.
All 43 escaped monkeys are female rhesus macaque primates that weigh around six or seven pounds, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
How, where and when the last four monkeys were found and captured has not been released, per The New York Times.
After the remaining four monkeys were found, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard released a statement thanking the Yemassee, South Carolina, police and community. “It was a real team and community effort,” he said, per CNN.
The last four stragglers spent weeks in thick, wooded terrain and persevered through a rare snowstorm before they were found and captured. They were all found to be in good health.