Truck Hauling “Aggressive” Monkeys Crashes On Highway – One “Still On The Loose”

A truck transporting research monkeys from Tulane University in New Orleans overturned on a Mississippi highway.

“All but one of the escaped monkeys have been destroyed. We have been in contact with an animal disposal company to help handle the situation. Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries is also on site with our local law enforcement. We are continuing to look for the one monkey that is still on the loose,” the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department stated.

“On 10/28/25 a wreck occurred on I59 near mile marker 117. This was a truck carrying Rehsus monkeys from Tulane University. The monkeys are approximately 40lbs, they are aggressive to humans and they require PPE to handle. The monkeys carry hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID. Tulane University has been notified and will send a team to pick up the monkeys tomorrow ( the ones that are still caged),” it continued.

BREAKING: Truck hauling ‘aggressive’ monkeys carrying hepatitis C, herpes & COVID overturns in Mississippi

Sheriff says all but one of the animals have been “destroyed.” pic.twitter.com/L9ss4ylJof

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 28, 2025

CBS News has more:

Rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16 pounds, are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. The escaped monkeys carry diseases but were not infectious, authorities said. They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.

The monkeys “are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery,” a Tulane University spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious. We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.”

Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries is also on site, according to the sheriff’s department. It’s not clear who the monkeys belong to or where they were going.

Rhesus macaque primates have brown fur with red faces and ears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. Rhesus macaques were imported to the United States in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories, according to the New England Primate Conservancy. Rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys,” and the species is “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans,” the conservancy says.

The sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases, including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “are not infectious.”

According to Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson, 21 monkeys were on the truck and six of them escaped.

15 remain caged after the crash.

BREAKING: “AGGRESSIVE” LAB MONKEYS ESCAPE OVERTURNED TRUCK IN MISSISSIPPI

Tulane University transport truck crashes on I-59, releasing six 40-pound rhesus monkeys.

Five have been euthanized, one still loose in the woods near Heidelberg.

Sheriff Randy Johnson warns… pic.twitter.com/tqOuOEGuiU

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 28, 2025

ABC News noted:

It is not clear who was transporting the monkeys or where they were going.

Video shows monkeys crawling through the tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.