More than half of the monkeys that escaped a medical research facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, last week have been recovered, but 18 remain on the loose.
One was recaptured on Saturday and 24 more caught on Sunday.
The recovered animals were unharmed, officials said.
A “sizeable group” of the remaining rhesus monkeys are milling around near the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center‘s fences but are hunkering down and sleeping in nearby trees at night.
The tiny monkeys, which are about the size of a house cat, are all females.
The animals escaped Wednesday when an employee didn’t lock a door after feeding and checking on the monkeys.
The facility, local police and federal health officials said the animals posed no risk to the public but warned people to stay away as to avoid agitating the creatures, which would make their recapture more difficult. A spokesperson for Alpha Genesis said the monkeys were too young to have been used in any testing yet and weren’t carrying diseases.
The company breeds monkeys at its facility, about 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Ga., to sell for medical testing and research.
Monkeys have escaped from the facility at least two other times since 2014, drawing scrutiny from animal rights advocates.
