By james art 
More than two dozen escaped monkeys are captured, others remain free
Police said more than two dozen monkeys had been captured again after 43 had fled from a South Carolina research center.
The continuing months of searching for 43 Rhesus Macacan monkeys, which fled from a South Carolina Research Center west of Charleston, ended on Friday after the latest vigilant primates were discovered, Police Department of Yemai in social media reported.
In early November, the monkeys fled from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center after the guard did not secure the doors, the police said, citing the company’s CEO Greg Vestergaard. The Alpha Genesis website says it is conducting research projects for government, university and private customers from the Monkey Cinomolgus, Rhesus and Capuchin industry.
Months of searching in a remote, wooded area around the Yemai facility followed. Alpha Genesis did not respond to USA Today’s emails and telephone requests on Saturday.
Police urged residents to keep their doors and windows closed. They warned people not to approach or interact with monkeys, including by flying drones above them.
The rhesus macaques are of Chinese or Indian origin. Small in height, they can thrive in various habitats and climate, according to the National Primate Research Center in Wisconsin. Males weigh nearly 17 pounds and are 21 inches high, while females weigh nearly 12 pounds and are 18 inches high.
Alpha Genesis staff tried to lure the macaques with food using human traps to capture them. Police use thermal imaging cameras to keep them in the eye.
Local police are sending almost daily updates on the efforts to capture monkeys from Westergaard, who is an expert in behavioral primatology.
The first of the 43 macaque was captured on November 9, two days after their escape. Just over a week later, on November 17, only eight monkeys stayed in the forest. They looked in good health, dancing and running through the trees, Vestergaard said in an update.
Land’s last monkeys would avoid capturing more than two months.
Then, on Friday, Westergaard made the last breakthrough: the quartet was successfully captured. Everyone looked in good health, he said.
All four monkeys were found near the facility, police spokesman Catherine Miller said in an email. Although one was discovered earlier this week, she said police had learned on Friday that the last three had been captured.
Police published a final message saying that Vestergaard thanked the locals for their support.
“It was a real effort of a team and a community,” Westergaard said.
(S)This story has been updated with information from the Yemassee Police Department.))