Police in a small South Carolina town warned locals to lock their houses and stay away from the animals at all costs after 43 monkeys broke out of a research facility there on Thursday.
The Yemassee, South Carolina, police department claimed the juvenile female rhesus macaques escaped Wednesday in a posting on its Facebook page.
Employees of Alpha Genesis, the research institute, were assisting police in the town of approximately 2,000 people in their search for the fugitives.
“Working to entice them with food,” the police department posted on social media to describe the search teams.
“Residents are asked to keep their windows and doors shut and to call 911 right away if they see anything. Under no circumstances should you try to approach these creatures,” it stated.
