The residents of a Pennsylvania county were warned not to approach a monkey still missing after a crash involving a pickup towing a trailer taking about 100 of the animals to a research laboratory.
State troopers urged people not to look for the cynomolgus monkey after a crash on a state highway near an interstate exit in Montour county.
Anyone who sees or locates the monkey is asked not to approach, attempt to catch, or come in contact with the monkey. Please call the emergency number immediately.
Several monkeys escaped after the collision between the pickup and dump truck, but as of Saturday morning only one remained missing, officials said. The Pennsylvania Game Commission and other agencies were searching.
The truck was on its way to the lab, according to a state trooper.
The location of the lab and the type of research for which the monkeys were destined weren't clear, but cynomolgus monkeys are often used in medical studies. A paper on the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information states that they are the most widely used primate.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were secured by state police.
It was not clear if citations were issued or the condition of the motorists.
One of the monkeys that escaped from a truck after a wreck off of I-80 is shown in a photo shared by investigators. This one is one of the monkeys that troopers and Game Wardens are trying to catch.
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January 22, 2022.
The driver and passenger of the pickup were spoken to by a witness. She said that the passenger thought the driver might have injured his legs.
The road was littered with crates as troopers searched for monkeys. The animals were located by the Valley Township firefighters with the help of a helicopter.
The pickup got off at the Danville exit and immediately tried to get back on the freeway, but was forced to drive across the other lane.
The pickup was hit on the passenger side by the dump truck, tearing off the front panel of the trailer and sending crates tumbling out.
She and another driver stopped to help when the other driver said he thought he saw a cat.
She told the newspaper that she saw a small monkey looking back at her as she peeked into a crate.
She told the other driver that they were monkeys.
With Associated Press.
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