A chaotic scene unfolded on Mississippi's Interstate 59 on Tuesday when a truck carrying rhesus monkeys and 15 other primates from Louisiana to Florida flipped over, spilling its cargo onto the highway. The escapees – eight in total – made a break for it, prompting dire warnings from authorities.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office issued a statement cautioning residents to stay away from the escaped monkeys, citing their aggressive nature and potential health risks. "They are approximately 40 pounds, they are aggressive to humans, and they require PPE to handle," the office said. "Do not approach the monkeys if you see one. Call 911. They do pose potential health threats and are aggressive."
However, in a shocking twist, it was later revealed that the monkeys were actually much lighter than initially thought, weighing around 16 pounds, far from the 40-pound estimate given by authorities. Furthermore, Tulane University, which was supposed to be transporting the primates, had not been consulted about their "destruction" and had actually been working with local authorities to return them safely.
The university's involvement has raised questions about the accuracy of initial reports and the handling of the situation. "Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery," a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. "The primates in question belong to another entity, and they have not been exposed to any infectious agent."
With an initial assessment suggesting that most of the escaped monkeys had been destroyed, it has now come to light that only three are still at large. The truck driver, who claimed the monkeys were "dangerous" and posed a threat to humans, has also faced criticism from authorities. "We took the appropriate actions after being given that information from the person transporting the monkeys," the sheriff's office said in an update.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of accurate communication and careful consideration when dealing with sensitive situations involving animals and public safety.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office issued a statement cautioning residents to stay away from the escaped monkeys, citing their aggressive nature and potential health risks. "They are approximately 40 pounds, they are aggressive to humans, and they require PPE to handle," the office said. "Do not approach the monkeys if you see one. Call 911. They do pose potential health threats and are aggressive."
However, in a shocking twist, it was later revealed that the monkeys were actually much lighter than initially thought, weighing around 16 pounds, far from the 40-pound estimate given by authorities. Furthermore, Tulane University, which was supposed to be transporting the primates, had not been consulted about their "destruction" and had actually been working with local authorities to return them safely.
The university's involvement has raised questions about the accuracy of initial reports and the handling of the situation. "Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery," a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. "The primates in question belong to another entity, and they have not been exposed to any infectious agent."
With an initial assessment suggesting that most of the escaped monkeys had been destroyed, it has now come to light that only three are still at large. The truck driver, who claimed the monkeys were "dangerous" and posed a threat to humans, has also faced criticism from authorities. "We took the appropriate actions after being given that information from the person transporting the monkeys," the sheriff's office said in an update.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of accurate communication and careful consideration when dealing with sensitive situations involving animals and public safety.
I'm low-key shocked by how quickly they jumped to conclusions about those monkeys being super aggressive and deadly 
I mean, 40 pounds sounds like a lot, but if they were really that feisty, wouldn't the driver have been more careful? And Tulane's involvement is wild, I didn't know they just gave away their primates willy-nilly 
It's funny how things can get blown out of proportion so quickly...
they got caught up in this crazy situation and now they're just trying to survive on their own... 16 pounds? that's not even a big deal, ppl were warning about 40 pound ones and now the authorities are all like "oh no" 
. tulane university was actually working with them to get them back safely so can we give it up for the real heroes here 
? truck driver was just trying to cover his own butt but now he's getting roasted 
. gotta make sure ppl are being honest and transparent, especially when it comes to handling animals 
I'm still shaking my head over this crazy monkey truck accident 
. I mean, can you believe how wrong everything was initially? 40 pounds?! 
The university's involvement does raise some serious red flags about how this whole thing went down. I'm glad that everyone involved is staying calm and working together to resolve the situation.
. Let's all hope that everything gets sorted out soon and no one gets hurt 
I mean what even is wrong with people?! First they're warning us that these monkeys are like, 40 pounds and super aggressive and then it's outed that they're actually 16 pounds and NOT a threat at all 
And meanwhile the truck driver is still getting roasted for being super irresponsible and not double-checking the info before spilling all over social media 
Like what were you thinking dude?! You could've hurt someone with those monkeys on your back 
It just makes me so frustrated that people can't even be bothered to fact-check and communicate properly in a crisis situation 
this is wild, i mean who expects to see monkeys on the highway?! 
first off, 16 pounds? like, that's basically a kitten... and tulane uni was in the clear all along 
so yeah, gotta give them props for being transparent about it. 
this is so crazy! i mean, first they say these monkeys are 40 pounds and aggressive, but it turns out they're only like 16 pounds! what if the authorities didn't have all the facts? it's like, we need better communication when it comes to handling animals in public. and honestly, who was behind the truck? that driver sounded kinda sketchy 
especially when animals are involved and public safety is at risk. 
The truck driver claimed they were "dangerous" and posed a threat, but it turns out that was just some misinformation. We need to be more careful when dealing with situations like this. It's not fair to the monkeys (or humans) involved. 
... I mean, can you even imagine being on that highway and seeing those monkeys running around? 
And now we know that only three are still at large, but I'm sure that's not going to be the end of this mess...
: GIF of a monkey running away from someone holding a scale]
: GIF of a person holding a phone, with a monkey in the background]
like what was going through that truck driver's head? thought those little guys were gonna be all aggressive and deadly? 
. And then there's the part where Tulane University is all "hey, we had nothing to do with this" 
which kinda raises some questions about how these monkeys ended up on the truck in the first place 
. I mean, it's not like he didn't know they were there or something