DANVILLE, Pa. — Residents of a Pennsylvania county had been warned Saturday to not method a monkey that was lacking after a crash involving a pickup that was towing a trailer taking about 100 of the animals to a lab.
State troopers urged individuals to not search for or seize the cynomolgus macaque monkey following the Friday afternoon crash on a state freeway close to an Interstate 80 exit in Montour County.
“Anybody who sees or locates the monkey is requested to not method, try to catch, or are available contact with the monkey. Please name 911 instantly,” troopers tweeted, not elaborating on any particular risks the monkey posed.
A number of monkeys escaped after the collision between the pickup and a dump truck, however as of Saturday morning just one remained unaccounted for, officers stated. The Pennsylvania Recreation Fee and different businesses looked for it amid frigid climate.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention stated the company was offering “technical help” to state police. The cargo of monkeys was en path to a CDC-approved quarantine facility after arriving Friday morning at New York’s Kennedy Airport from Mauritius, the company stated.
The truck had been on its approach to a lab, Trooper Andrea Pelachick advised The Every day Merchandise newspaper of Sunbury.
The situation of the lab and the kind of analysis for which the monkeys had been destined weren’t clear, however cynomolgus monkeys are sometimes utilized in medical research. A 2015 paper posted on the web site of the Nationwide Middle for Biotechnology Data referred to them as probably the most extensively used primate in preclinical toxicology research.
Trooper Laura Lesher stated state police secured the scene for the Pennsylvania Division of Well being and the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
The situation and whereabouts of the remaining monkeys weren’t clear Saturday.
The situation of the motorists additionally wasn’t clear, nor was it clear whether or not any citations had been issued.
A crash witness, Michelle Fallon, advised the Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg that she spoke with the pickup driver and a passenger after the crash. The motive force seemed to be disoriented, and the passenger thought he might need injured his legs, she stated.
Crates littered the highway Friday as troopers looked for monkeys, rifles in hand. Valley Township firefighters used thermal imaging to attempt to find the animals, and a helicopter additionally assisted, the Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg reported.
The pickup was heading west on I-80 when it obtained off on the Danville exit after which instantly tried to get again on, driving throughout the opposite lane, the newspaper reported.
Fallon advised the Press Enterprise that she was behind the pickup when it was hit on the passenger aspect by the dump truck, tearing off the entrance panel of the trailer and sending greater than a dozen crates tumbling out.
She and one other motorist who stopped to assist had been standing close to the scene when the opposite driver stated he thought he noticed a cat run throughout the highway, Fallon stated.
Fallon peeked right into a crate and noticed a small monkey wanting again at her, she advised the newspaper.
“They’re monkeys,” she advised the opposite motorist.