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The truck was carrying 21 rhesus monkeys, three of whom remained at large, making the authorities strive to track them down.
The monkeys were contaminated with multiple viruses. (Image source: X)
A group of potentially infected laboratory monkeys escaped after a car crash on a major interstate highway in Mississippi, US. According to The Guardian, citing the Jasper County Police Department, the monkeys, which came from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, were contaminated with multiple viruses, including hepatitis C and Covid-19, posing a potential health risk to local residents.
The truck was carrying 21 rhesus monkeys, three of whom remained at large, making the authorities strive to track them down. But now, one of the three escaped injured monkeys has been shot by a local resident.
An American woman shoots an injured monkey
According to CNN, one of the monkeys that escaped after the incident was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman named Jessica Bond Ferguson, claiming that she was concerned for the safety of her children.
She said her 16-year-old son alerted her early Sunday, claiming he saw a monkey running in the garden outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out of bed, grabbed her gun and phone, and ran outside, where she spotted the monkey about 60 feet away.
Furthermore, Ferguson claimed that she and other local residents were told that the escaped monkeys were carrying diseases; So she fired her gun.
“She did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Ferguson, who has five children between the ages of four and 16, told the Associated Press. “I shot him and he stood there, and I shot again, and he backed away and that’s when he fell.”
What did the officials say?
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office verified in a social media post that a resident had discovered a monkey on their property Sunday morning, but did not provide any other information. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the monkey was taken into custody by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
Ferguson called the police before Bond left and asked him to keep an eye on the monkey. However, she expressed concern that if the monkey escaped, it might harm children in another residence.
“If a child attacks someone and I can stop them, that would be entirely on me,” Ferguson said. “It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they’re running around, and people have kids playing in their yards.”
What happened with the monkeys?
According to CNN, the rhesus monkeys are being held at the National Center for Biomedical Research at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, which regularly supplies primates to scientific research organizations, according to the foundation. Tulane said last week that the monkeys do not belong to the institution and are not being transported by the university.
According to Tolin, 13 of the 21 monkeys in the truck were discovered at the scene and returned to their original destination last week. Five others were killed during the search, and three remained at large before Sunday.
The team of writers at News18.com bring you stories about what’s buzzing on the internet while exploring science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood and culture.
The team of writers at News18.com bring you stories about what’s buzzing on the internet while exploring science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood and culture.
Delhi, India, India
03 November 2025, 2:00 PM IST
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