'Aggressive monkeys riddled herpes' on the loose after lorry overturns on motorway

Residents have been warned after reports that three “aggressive” monkeyshave escaped and are on the loose. The animals were also initially said to be infected with hepatitis C, herpes and Covid-19 with locals told to avoid approaching the animals and call policeimmediately if they see them.

The ape escape came after a truck carrying the research animals overturned on the highway north of Heidelberg, in Mississippi, US on Tuesday. The truck’s driver reportedly told law enforcement officers at the scene that the primates were aggressive and carried infectious diseases.

Officials from Tulane University, where the monkeys were being housed, have since said the monkeys were not infectious. However Sheriff Randy Johnson said in a news release that because of their aggressive nature the monkeys had still needed to be "neutralised".

An unknown number of other Rhesus monkeys have been killed, however three of the monkeys avoided being killed by the sheriff’s deputies and they are on the run, according to officials from Tulane University who examined the wreck.

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The animals had been housed at a research centre at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center. The centre routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations and in this instance they belonged to an unnamed third party, not the university itself. There are still many questions around the number and destination of the Rhesus monkeys - which typically weigh about 8 kilos (16 pounds).

Video shows monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates marked "live animals" crumpled and strewn about.

University officials will be in the area looking for the missing monkeys, the sheriff said. All other monkeys were being transported back to a facility in Louisiana.

It is still unknown how many monkeys were on the truck, who owned them, who was transporting them, or where they were being taken and for what purpose, as well as what caused the crash.

Rhesus monkeys are among the most medically studied animals on the planet - the lab monkeys are now roaming around the countryside about 100 miles north of the Mississippi state capital, Jackson. The public have been told not to approach them with locals advised to all law enforcement if they spot one.

The Mississippi highway patrol is currently investigating the incident.