A monkey that escaped from an overturned truck has been fatally shot by Mississippi mom

The Associated Press

· Posted: Nov 02, 2025 6:41 PM EST | Last Updated: November 3

One of the monkeys that escaped past week aft a motortruck overturned connected a Mississippi roadway was changeable and killed aboriginal Sunday by a homeowner who says she feared for the information of her children.

Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted aboriginal Sunday by her 16-year-old lad who said helium thought helium had seen a monkey moving successful the gait extracurricular their location adjacent Heidelberg, Miss. She got retired of bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone, and stepped extracurricular wherever she saw the monkey astir 18 metres away.

Bond said she and different residents had been warned astir the diseases that the escaped monkeys carried truthful she fired her gun.

"I did what immoderate different parent would bash to support her children," Bond, who has 5 children ranging successful property from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. "I changeable astatine it and it conscionable stood there, and I changeable again, and helium backed up and that's erstwhile helium fell."

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office confirmed successful a societal media station that a homeowner had recovered 1 of the monkeys connected their spot Sunday greeting but said the bureau didn't person immoderate details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff's bureau said.

A motortruck that was transporting monkeys is seen overturned successful Heidelberg connected Tuesday. (Scotty Ray Boyd/The Associated Press)

Mississippi authorities person not disclosed the institution progressive successful transporting the monkeys, wherever the monkeys were headed oregon who owns them.

The Rhesus monkeys had been housed astatine the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center successful New Orleans, which routinely provides primates to technological probe organizations, according to the university. In a statement, Tulane University said the monkeys bash not beryllium to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

The motortruck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday connected Interstate 59 northbound of Heidelberg. Authorities person said astir of the 21 monkeys were killed. The sheriff's section said carnal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined 3 monkeys had escaped.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the origin of the crash, which occurred astir 160 kilometres from the authorities capital, Jackson.

Monkeys request to beryllium 'neutralized,' sheriff says

Rhesus monkeys typically measurement astir 7 kilograms and are among the astir medically studied animals connected the planet. Video recorded aft the clang showed monkeys crawling done gangly writer beside the interstate, wherever woody crates labeled "live animals" were crumpled and strewn about.

Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, contempt archetypal reports by the truck's occupants informing that the monkeys were unsafe and harboring assorted diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys inactive needed to beryllium "neutralized" due to the fact that of their assertive nature.

The monkeys had precocious received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said successful a connection Wednesday.

A Rhesus macaques monkey is seen successful Silver Springs, Fla., successful November 2017. (John Raoux/The Associated Press)

About 10 years ago, 3 Rhesus macaques successful the breeding colony of what was past known arsenic the Tulane National Primate Research Center were euthanized aft a "biosecurity breach," national inspectors wrote successful a 2015 report. The breach progressive astatine slightest 1 unit subordinate failing to adhere to biosafety and corruption power procedures, it said.

The installation made changes successful its procedures and retrained unit aft that happened, according to the study from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Rhesus macaques "are known to beryllium aggressive," according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency's conservation workers were moving with sheriff's officials successful the hunt for the animals.

The hunt comes astir 1 twelvemonth aft 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for aesculapian probe due to the fact that an worker didn't afloat fastener an enclosure. Employees from the Alpha Genesis installation successful Yemassee, S.C., had acceptable up traps to seizure them.