Wednesday 1:00 p.m. Tulane University sent an additional statement on the monkey incident. They clarified that the monkeys were being transported by Tulane but they were not owned by Tulane or in Tulane’s custody. They also stated again that the monkeys were pathogen-free and had just had recent check-ups. Read the full statement here.
“Nonhuman primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery. This is a common practice among research organizations. On Oct. 28, a vehicle was transporting 21 Rhesus Macaques when an accident occurred on I-59 in Mississippi. The nonhuman primates were not being transported by Tulane, not owned by Tulane, and not in Tulane’s custody. The primates in question were not carrying any diseases and had received recent checkups confirming that they were pathogen-free. Although Tulane did not transport or own the nonhuman primates at the time of the incident, we sent a team of animal care experts to assist in this tragic incident. Questions regarding the missing nonhuman primates and other details of this case should be referred to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.”
8:30 p.m. UPDATE: Three monkeys have been confirmed to be on the loose in Jasper County after a miscount. A truck overturned carrying them to a testing facility earlier today. It was originally believed that there was only one left that escaped into nearby woods and was not shot by law enforcement, but we now know there are three.
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The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department says a truck hauling monkeys from Tulane University overturned near the 117-mile marker north of Heidelberg on Tuesday, and several Rehsus monkeys are on the loose.
Sheriff Randy Johnson said they were told by the driver that there were a total of 21 monkeys on the truck and 6 had gotten loose.
The monkeys weigh around 40 pounds and the driver told deputies that they are aggressive to humans and require PPE to handle. The sheriff’s department said the driver also told them the monkeys carry hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID, but Tulane corrected that report by saying that they are not infectious.
Deputies are urging the public not to approach any monkeys they may see. If you see one, call 911 and report the location.
Law enforcement shot and killed five of the escaped monkeys.
Tulane University was immediately notified and they ended up sending a team to come get the monkeys this evening.
Tulane University released a statement on the crash saying,
“Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery. The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious. We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.”
Once the team from Tulane University arrived this afternoon/evening, they were able to get inside the overturned truck and get a correct count once inside. They learned that three monkeys are actually still on the loose.
Authorities are on scene and coordinating response efforts. More details will be released as they become available.