WASHINGTON — A truck crash in Pennsylvania carrying 100 monkeys to a lab resulted in four of them escaping, prompting a search by police who warned the public not to approach the animals.
The vehicle collided with a dump truck near Danville, Pennsylvania while en route to a Florida lab.
Police said on Twitter that four monkeys “ran away from the crash site to the surrounding area”.
Three were later captured, but one was still at large.
Local news site WNEP said a police helicopter equipped with thermal cameras had been deployed to hunt down the cynomolgus monkeys, while officers on the ground used powerful flashlights.
Pennsylvania State Police released a photo of a primate sitting in a tree on Route 54 on the freezing night.
A reporter said police surrounded the monkey before shots were fired from an unidentified firearm.
“Crash update: One monkey is still missing, but we ask that no one attempts to locate or capture the animal,” law enforcement officials said on Twitter.
According to The New York Times, cynomolgus monkeys – also known as long-tailed macaques – can cost up to $10,000 and have been in demand for coronavirus vaccine research. They can live 30 years in captivity.
