On October 28, a Mississippi woman came alarmingly close to experiencing that same fate. She captured and killed by gunshot a Rhesus monkey that had escaped from an overturned truck. The truck was carrying the monkeys to Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center. This unique facility is home in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event unfolded in Jasper County, near Heidelberg, where residents had been warned about the potential dangers posed by the escaped monkeys.
It was no surprise that mother of five Jessica Bond Ferguson sprung into action. Her monkey-catching son, 16, had just run in to tell her there was a monkey! Grabbing her service revolver and personal cellphone, she ran outside to see what was going on. It turned out the monkey had escaped her grasp and was now about 60 feet away from her. Concerned about her children’s safety, she decided to act. It was her kids – all of whom now range from four to 16 years old – that pushed her to take action.
Ferguson expressed her motivations clearly, stating, “I did what any other mother would do to protect my children.” The community had already been warned that the escaped monkeys might be contagious, further raising her alarm.
As Ferguson approached the animal, she raised her weapon and fired. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell,” she recounted. Jasper County Sheriff’s Office subsequently verified that this monkey belonged to the remaining handful still on the loose. This could have been done after the truck accident. Local news reports said that all but one monkey had been recovered.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks later obtained the body of the dead monkey after the accident. In the meantime, authorities have been trying to track down three other monkeys yet unaccounted for that are still loose in the area.
This incident is a case study in the unforeseen and uncommon challenges of wildlife interactions. It’s of even greater concern when these animals threaten public health. Local officials have asked residents to stay alert, even during the hunt for the remaining monkeys.