2nd escaped monkey fatally shot, leaving 1 monkey still on the loose
after Mississippi crash
[November 05, 2025]
HEIDELBERG, Miss. (AP) — A second monkey has been shot and killed and
authorities said Tuesday that they were still searching for a third
missing monkey a week after their escape from a truck that overturned on
a Mississippi highway.
Someone shot the monkey after seeing it cross the highway on Monday
evening about a mile from the scene of the Oct. 28 crash, Jasper County
Sheriff Sheriff Randy Johnson said. Johnson said he was contacted by a
person with the transport company who recovered the monkey after a
civilian shot it.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks confirmed
Tuesday in a news release that one monkey was still unaccounted for
after two of the escaped monkeys were “recovered deceased." Officials
have warned that people should not approach the Rhesus monkeys, saying
they are known to be aggressive.
Over the weekend, a woman who said she feared for the safety of her
children shot and killed another escaped monkey after her 16-year-old
son saw a monkey outside their home near Heidelberg. Jessica Bond
Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned that the escaped
monkeys carried diseases so she shot it.
A truck carrying 21 monkeys overturned on Interstate 59 north of
Heidelberg last week and several monkeys escaped. Video from the scene
showed monkeys and wooden crates in tall grass beside the interstate.
Searchers in protective equipment were seen scouring nearby fields and
woods for missing primates. Five monkeys were killed during the search
and three were missing initially, officials said.
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This photo provided by Scotty Ray Boyd shows an escaped monkey
sitting in the grass Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Heidelberg, Miss.
(Scotty Ray Boyd via AP)
The monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National
Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, which routinely provides
primates to scientific research organizations, according to the
university. Tulane has said it wasn't transporting the monkeys and
they do not belong to the university. The remaining 13 monkeys
arrived at their original destination last week, according to
Tulane.
PreLabs, which describes itself on its website as a biomedical
research support organization, said in a statement Monday that a
vehicle transporting its non-human primates was involved in the
crash and the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed
research facility. It stressed that the monkeys weren’t carrying any
known diseases, but asked the public not to approach them as they
were likely frightened and disoriented.
“We are cooperating with authorities and reviewing all safety
procedures to ensure the continued well-being of both the animals
and the community,” PreLabs said.
The escape is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of
animal research and the processes that allow key details of what
happened to be kept from the public.
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