Oregon Health and Science University issued a warning Friday evening after five monkeys escaped from its Oregon National Primate Research Center in Beaverton.
One of those monkeys was captured around 8:00 p.m.
Jim Newman with OHSU said the group of males escaped while their cages were being cleaned around 1:00 p.m.
Newman said animal handlers had been tracking the Japanese Macaques on the Primate Research Center’s campus around SW 185th and Walker. The university decided to alert the public after the animals left the grounds of the campus and were spotted near the MAX line.
Newman said the monkeys are all about 20-35 pounds and were used as breeding animals to expand the primate population at the center.
Staff are using cages with food inside in the hopes of luring the animals inside.
According to Newman, “It is believed that the animals pose little to no threat to humans because they retreat when they are approached. However an animal that feels threatened could bite.”
The University also said the escaped monkeys haven’t been tested to see if they carry diseases that are low risk to primates but higher risk to humans.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:22AM
Wouldn’t touch that one with a 10-foot Hungarian.