Last monkey on the loose after Mississippi highway crash is captured after being spotted by resident

Last Escaped Monkey Captured After Mississippi Highway Crash

The final monkey that escaped following a truck crash in Mississippi has been captured, authorities confirmed Thursday, ending a nearly two-week search operation that resulted in several animal deaths and raised questions about animal transportation practices in research.

A resident near the crash site in the Vossburg area spotted the monkey when their dog began barking and promptly alerted authorities. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said in a statement to The Associated Press that the animal was “successfully recovered” on Wednesday afternoon.

“Workers from one of the companies that had been transporting the truckload of monkeys arrived to tranquilize the monkey,” said Brandy Smith, who witnessed the capture and spoke with WDAM-TV about the incident.

The recovery concludes an ordeal that began on October 28 when a truck transporting the primates overturned on Interstate 59. The aftermath was chaotic, with body camera footage showing monkeys escaping from wooden crates and running through the grassy interstate median. Some animals darted toward vehicles and semi-trucks on the highway.

Five monkeys were killed by law enforcement officers immediately after the accident as they attempted to contain the situation. In subsequent days, two more escaped animals were shot and killed by civilians who claimed they were protecting their families and neighborhoods. Officials had warned the public to avoid approaching the Rhesus monkeys, noting their potentially aggressive behavior.

The monkeys had originally been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, although the university has distanced itself from the incident, stating that it wasn’t responsible for transporting the animals and that they did not belong to the institution. Tulane did acknowledge that its center routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations.

PreLabs, which identifies itself as a biomedical research support organization, issued a statement confirming the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility. The company assured the public that the monkeys weren’t carrying any known diseases. According to Tulane, thirteen surviving monkeys that weren’t killed during the escape eventually arrived at their originally intended destination last week.

The incident has inadvertently highlighted concerns about the often-secretive nature of animal research transportation. Industry practices frequently include confidentiality agreements that limit public knowledge about animal studies, their conditions, and transportation protocols.

Animal rights advocates have long criticized the transportation of research animals, citing concerns about stress, confinement conditions, and the risks posed by accidents like this one. The Mississippi incident represents one of the more public examples of such transportation going wrong, with potentially dangerous consequences for both the animals and nearby communities.

While the immediate public safety concern has been resolved with the capture of the final monkey, questions remain about oversight and safety protocols in the transportation of research animals across state lines. The incident has sparked discussions among local residents about notification procedures when potentially dangerous animals are being transported through their communities.

Mississippi wildlife officials have not disclosed the current condition of the recovered monkey or its ultimate destination. The interstate where the accident occurred has since returned to normal operations, but the incident has left a lasting impression on the small communities near the crash site.

The recovery of the final escaped monkey brings closure to what had become a concerning situation for local residents, while simultaneously raising broader questions about the infrastructure and regulations surrounding animal transportation in research contexts.