A week after dozens of monkeys escaped from a research facility in the Palmetto State, two large emus have wandered into South Carolina, infuriating locals.
Sam Mores has flocked to social media to plead with Loris residents who have reported sightings of the elusive winged creature to refrain from executing the flightless bird, which escaped from his father’s enclosure over the summer. did.
“For all of you who keep watching the emus, yes, it’s mine. Two of them are out,” Mores posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
“They got loose three months ago. They are wild and not trained like the ones we keep at home. Local law enforcement has already been to my house. We are trying to get approval for tranquilizers so we can take them home.”
Horry County officials told the Sun-News they are working to find and capture the large native Australian bird after residents posted on social media after seeing it in their backyards or on local highways.
“First it’s a monkey, now it’s an emu!” Greg Lucas, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, told the outlet.
“SC may be the new Florida!”
A total of 43 monkeys entered the Alpha Genesis Medical Research Facility in Yamasee last Thursday after workers left the enclosure door open, and some of the remaining primates followed them through the countryside.
As of Monday, 30 of the furry fugitives had returned unharmed to the company’s custody after employees lured them with food, police said in a statement.
The facility raises rhesus macaques and sells them to medical facilities and other researchers.
Police urged residents to keep their distance from the aggressive monkeys and not to fly drones in the area.