Mississippi mom shoots dead monkey that escaped from overturned truck to protect her children

A Mississippi mom shot dead one of the aggressive monkeys that escaped from an overturned truck last week to protect her young children.

Jessica Bond Ferguson said she and other Heidelberg residents had been on high alert after word spread that monkeys — believed to be carrying dangerous diseases but later confirmed by officials not to be — had been roaming loose since Tuesday.

Early Sunday morning, her 16-year-old son ran into the house, claiming he had seen one of the animals in the yard.

The 35-year-old mother of five — whose children range from 4 to 16 — said she jumped out of bed, grabbed her gun and phone, and went outside after calling police.

About 60 feet away from her home, she said she spotted the monkey and chose to take matters into her own hands to ensure her children’s safety.

“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson told the Associated Press.

“I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

With police and animal control still, the mother of five said she decided to shoot the monkey, fearing it would get away and possibly would become a threat to children at another house in the neighborhood.

“If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me,” Bond Ferguson said.

“It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards.”

In a post on social media, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a homeowner discovered one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but offered no other details.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has since taken control of the animal.

The shooting of the monkey comes several days after a truck loaded with 21 caged rhesus monkeys crashed on Interstate 59, just north of Heidelberg, on Oct. 27.

Tulane University said the Rhesus monkeys came from its National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, a site that commonly furnishes primates to research institutions.

Tulane said 13 were recovered at the site and safely transported last week, five died during the search, and three continued to roam free until Sunday.

Shocking video footage from the crash site captured the 16-pound rhesus monkeys moving through high grass near the highway, with splintered wooden crates labeled “live animals” strewn around them.

Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants that the monkeys were dangerous and harbored various diseases.

The monkeys had undergone recent health screenings that showed they were clear of pathogens, Tulane said Wednesday.

Johnson, however, said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

Rhseus monkeys are known to exhibit aggressive behaviors, especially under certain conditions, according to the National Library of Medicine.

The average adult rhesus monkey typically weighs between 9 and 26 pounds, depending on its sex. They are often preferred as research subjects in part because their genomes share similarities with those of humans.

While authorities have not yet determined what caused the truck to overturn, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said it is investigating the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from the state capital, Jackson.

Tulane stressed it does not own the monkeys and was not responsible for their transport.

with Post wires