CAGE MATCH

How forty-three monkeys united animal-rights activists and the right.

- BY AVA KOFMAN

At breeding and research facilities like Alpha Genesis, conditions often drive monkeys to the point of madness.

Last November, the day after the election, Daniel Vance was eating lunch in his truck when he noticed something move in the trees across the road. The forecast had predicted thunderstorms in the rural town of Yemassee, South Carolina, where Vance, a land surveyor, was mapping sewage lines. Taking another bite of his foot-long sub, he figured that it must be the wind picking up. Then he saw the monkeys. Dozens of them were streaming over a tall metal fence at a compound owned by Alpha Genesis, one of the country's biggest breeders of primates used in scientific experiments. Swinging from the overhanging branches and darting through the woods, the animals were heading toward a nearby housing project, their pink faces lit with glee.

Fearing that they could be carrying disease, Vance called Alpha Genesis. Within minutes, a Code X—for escape—was triggered, and a recapture mission was under way. Alpha Genesis employees set out fruit-baited traps; the Yemassee Police Department deployed thermal-imaging cameras. Residents were advised to shut their windows and to dial 911 if they spotted a fugitive. The police chief began to field tips about simian sightings as far away as Florida. Most of these informants, he found, had trouble distinguishing between monkeys and squirrels.

In an unsettled nation eager for diversion, news of the escape went viral.