By Tommy Acosta
Sedona, AZ — What an amazing story. Forty three monkeys have escaped from a lab in South Carolina, and 25 are still running wild.
I mean, what must it be like for them? They’ve lived their entire lives in captivity, very young with little experience of the outside world. And now, there they are—out in the wilderness, or should I say their natural habitat, learning to survive. Can you imagine what they must be feeling? The taste of freedom, breathing open air, and an endless world of possibilities before them.
Do they have a leader? From what I understand, all the escaped monkeys are female. None of them have been tested yet, so they haven’t endured the horrors of invasive biological experiments. There they are, hanging out in trees, sleeping in the wild. But will they survive? They’ve never learned to forage. Will they find fruit-bearing trees to eat from? Will a smarter, braver group defy capture and find a way to live out there?
They likely won’t last long since there aren’t any male monkeys to start a new colony. Still, just being out there, breathing fresh air, and enjoying the sounds of civilization might be liberating for them.
Will they form a tight-knit group? Living in the trees, raiding garbage cans for food? Might they develop a sense of self-preservation and cunning to avoid those trying to capture them? It’s incredible—almost like Planet of the Apes. I keep wondering: do they have a leader? Or is this simply a case of “monkey see, monkey do”? If one of them is leading, perhaps the chase could go on much longer.
I put myself in their furry little bodies and feel a sense of exhilaration. Imagine them swinging from tree to tree, new smells everywhere, perhaps even finding fruit trees or becoming nighttime raiders in trash cans, foraging and gorging themselves. I’m following this story closely—I’m really curious to see what happens next. They say they’ve captured 25 out of the 43, so quite a few are still out there.
One can only imagine the horror waiting for these young monkeys in the lab. Dissected and injected with poisons and chemicals that cause cancer—a miserable existence. But now, they’re out there, unshackled, free.
I wonder how many might return on their own if they become fearful or really hungry. Even monkeys have personalities—every living creature does. That’s why there are brave lions and cowardly lions. If there was a wise Silverback to control a tribe, maybe their chances would improve. Different animals have different levels of intelligence, just like humans.
So, it stands to reason that these monkeys might have varying intellect and a sense of adventure and courage. What about the monkeys that couldn’t be lured back? Will they be tranquilized or even shot? We’ll see. I’m following this story with bated breath, rooting for these monkeys who got away.
Some legal experts are suggesting that the monkeys may have certain rights now that they’re outside the facility. Some state officials and members of the public are even suggesting they could be legally protected and might be rescued from a life of confinement and experimentation by being brought to a sanctuary.
But the question remains: are any of these escaped monkeys smart enough to avoid capture and live in the wild without being fed? We shall see.