Officials said on Saturday that one of the 43 rhesus macaques that escaped from a South Carolina research facility earlier this week has been recovered.
The other animals are still roaming the area, and they’re jumping over the fence of the Alpha Genesis facility.
The monkeys escaped from the facility on Wednesday after a worker failed to close a door.
On Friday, the animals were exploring the outer perimeter of the facility while they were interacting with their companions inside.
This was a positive sign, and the police statement noted that the primates were still interacting with one another on Saturday.
Alpha Genesis’ CEO Greg Westergaard said in the statement that the company’s efforts to recover the animals would continue over the weekend.
The animals, which are all female, are about the size of cats and weigh around three kilograms.
Officials from Alpha Genesis, the police, and federal health officials stated that the escaped monkeys pose no danger to the public.
The company breeds these animals for research and sells them to other researchers.
Alpha Genesis’ facility is located in Yemassee, Georgia. It’s about 80 kilometers away from Savannah.