43 monkeys escape a medical laboratory in South Carolina. According to the police, there is no serious danger

Forty-three monkeys have escaped from a medical research site in South Carolina, but the nearby police chief said there was “almost no danger” to the public.

“They are not infected with any disease. They’re harmless and a little shy,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.

The rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility on Wednesday because a new employee did not completely close an enclosure, Alexander said.

The company normally handles escape attempts on site, but the monkeys ended up off-site about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee, Alexander said.

“The handlers know them well and can usually get them back with fruit or a small treat,” Alexander told The Associated Press by phone.

But rounding up these refugees requires even more work. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting up traps and using thermal imaging cameras to recapture the monkeys as they escape, the chief said.

“There is almost no danger to the public,” Alexander said.

People who live nearby have to close their windows and doors so that the monkeys cannot find a place to hide. If they see the primates, they call 911 so company officials and police can capture them.

According to its website, Alpha Genesis provides primates for global research at its site about 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia. The company did not respond to an email asking about the escape Wednesday.

In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped, as well as an incident that left several others without water and others having problems housing the monkeys.

Officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2104 and another 19 escaped in 2016.