A group of research monkeys being transported from Tulane University escaped after the truck they were in was involved in a crash and overturned, deputies say.

The truck was driving north of Heidelberg on Interstate 59 in Mississippi when it overturned, according to an Oct. 28 Facebook post from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department.

“It has been reported that several monkeys are on the loose,” deputies said. “They do pose potential health threats and are aggressive.”

The truck was hauling rhesus monkeys, a species that is commonly used in medical research, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies said anyone handling the monkeys required PPE, or personal protective equipment, because the monkeys were carrying hepatitis C, herpes and COVID-19, all potentially serious viruses.

An hour after the crash was initially reported, deputies said all but one of the monkeys had been “destroyed” and an animal disposal company was working with Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries and local officials to handle the monkey remains.

Tulane University was notified of the crash and told officials the captured animals and those still caged would be picked up the next day, according to the post.

When asked by McClatchy News, Tulane University did not specify where the monkeys were headed and did not confirm whether the monkeys were carrying the three specific viruses.

“Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery,” the New Orleans-based university told McClatchy 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.”

Rhesus macaque monkeys belong to a group called Old-World monkeys, which are anatomically and genetically very similar to humans, making them successful models for disease research, according to Understanding Animal Research, a nonprofit organization based in the United Kingdom.

Rhesus macaques were specifically used to help develop the COVID-19 vaccine, the organization said, testing efficacy of the shot before it was used in large-scale clinical trials.

The species is native to Asia, their habitat stretching across Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China, according to the New England Primate Conservancy.

They were introduced, however, to the Silver River in Florida in the 1930s, and a small population still exists in the area, the conservancy said.

A recent viral video showed the monkeys in Silver Springs State Park jumping into the water to the shock of kayakers below.

Heidelberg is in southeastern Mississippi, about an 85-mile drive southeast from Jackson.

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