# Infected, aggressive Rhesus monkey escapes crashed truck in Mississippi **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371 "2025-10-28T21:39:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/21 "2025-10-30T13:43:21Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > they determined three monkeys remain on the loose. Inner quote from news article. What’re the odds they’re all the same sex? 25% assuming the usual mix rather than the truckload being preselected at the lab to be some other mix than 50/50 M/F. So 75% chance we now have a breeding population in the wild. Yaay! I for one welcome our “non-dangerous” infectious primate overlords. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/22 "2025-10-30T14:14:02Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > “The driver of the truck told local law enforcement that the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans,” What are the odds the driver actually said this? I am automatically skeptical of any news report that quotes a large section of a police statement verbatim and treats it as fact without any evidence to back it up (you’ll notice they didn’t interview the driver to get his side of the story, they just quoted the police statement as fact) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/23 "2025-10-30T15:01:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So 75% chance we now have a breeding population in the wild. Yaay! > > I for one welcome our “non-dangerous” infectious primate overlords. 😉 I mean, the limited breeding population would over the centuries lead to genetic collapse, resulting in a primate Hapsburg empire, if you will. Indistinguishable from the current empire, true, but likely more benign. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/24 "2025-10-30T16:26:33Z")
_Not_ a plague monkey. (Probably.) > **[Spooked monkey at Spirit Halloween swings from rafters](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/monkey-spirit-halloween)** > > Shoppers at a Spirit Halloween store in Texas were shocked to see a live monkey wearing a diaper swinging from the rafters. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/25 "2025-11-03T03:21:36Z")
> A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Of 21 the monkeys in the truck, 13 were found at the scene of the accident and arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane. Another five were killed in the hunt for them and [three remained on the loose](https://apnews.com/article/monkeys-escape-mississippi-tulane-2a8e2bcfc5fe9f81e641cefa78bb746f) before Sunday. > **[Mississippi woman kills escaped monkey fearing for her children's safety](https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-monkey-tulane-animal-research-159b37892421e404d300fd751a7f5e2e)** > > A homeowner in Mississippi has shot and killed one of the monkeys that escaped after a truck accident last week. So after this killing the situation is 13 found at the scene of the accident, six killed and two still loose. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/26 "2025-11-03T14:19:40Z")
Of course, inquiring minds want to know what kind of “firearm” the Mississippi woman used to shoot the monkey. Rhesus monkeys aren’t very big and it was about 60 feet away. If it was a handgun, it was a darn good shot (or two) for a dynamic target while under stress. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/27 "2025-11-03T14:41:48Z")
@[Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckdawrek); You don’t live very far from Mississippi: what’s your best guess as to the type of gun she used? My impression is that rifles and shotguns are much more popular in rural areas while handguns are more popular in urban areas. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/28 "2025-11-03T15:43:50Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I mean, the limited breeding population would over the centuries lead to genetic collapse, resulting in a primate Hapsburg empire, if you will. > > Indistinguishable from the current empire, true, but likely more benign. Until they start biting humans & infecting them; sure some will perish but others will mate with the monkeys creating a new species, with a stronger gene pool that ends up ruling what is left of the two donor species…at least until a nuclear war; after which the cockroaches finally take over. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/29 "2025-11-03T18:32:18Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Of course, inquiring minds want to know what kind of “firearm” the Mississippi woman used to shoot the monkey. Rhesus monkeys aren’t very big and it was about 60 feet away. If it was a handgun, it was a darn good shot (or two) for a dynamic target while under stress. Like the time Atticus Finch shot the rabid dog in _To Kill A Mockingbird_. > [@](#): > > “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, a mother of five, told the AP. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.” [They don’t tolerate](http://gizmodo.com/mississippi-woman-kills-escaped-lab-monkey-2000680721) any of them diseased, aggressive monkeys down there in Mississippi. > [@](#): > > …aggressive toward humans, and infected with hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID. I was just telling Mrs. J. that sounds like typical customers at our local Kroger. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/30 "2025-11-04T00:34:10Z")
You left off syphilis. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/31 "2025-11-06T20:22:25Z")
> **[Last monkey on the loose after Mississippi highway crash is captured after...](https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-monkey-escape-crash-tulane-7f2ae5a9854eaf45779eef4bd1f94fdc)** > > Authorities have captured the last monkey that escaped after a highway crash in Mississippi. The state Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said Thursday that a resident near the crash site reported the monkey's location. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/32 "2025-11-06T20:26:44Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > And if Howard Cosell were still living, “Those little monkeys got loose!” Only if the monkey’s name were Alvin ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/33 "2025-11-06T20:59:26Z")
Wonder how many Mississippians will blame their hepatitis C and herpes diagnoses on the monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/34 "2025-11-06T22:37:46Z")
Just for the record, by the way, herpes is incredibly common in humans. Pretty much everyone who’s sexually active and not lifelong-monogamous has herpes. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/35 "2025-11-07T00:01:05Z")
Even lifelong virgins may have herpes. Cold sores, chicken pox, and shingles are all caused by herpes viruses. The herpes that infects monkeys doesn’t usually make them sick, but it can be a very serious disease in people. It’s not the same as mpox. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371/36 "2025-11-07T03:31:36Z")
Genital herpes is estimated to infect anywhere from 1 in 6 to 1 in 8 Americans. > **[Fast facts about Herpes (Herpes Simplex Virus)](https://www.ashasexualhealth.org/herpes/)** > > Herpes is a very common viral infection caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). I can cause sores on the mouth or face or in the genital area. Herpes cannot be cured, but it can be treated. So the idea that “pretty much everyone” who isn’t “lifelong monogamous” has it is dubious, unless lifelong monogamy is a lot more common than we thought. 🤔 Note: herpes virus HSV-1 (which is more common) mostly affects orofacial sites and HSV-II genital ones, though they can cross-infect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infected-aggressive-rhesus-monkey-escapes-crashed-truck-in-mississippi/1024371.md?page=1)