Dozens of monkeys have escaped from a research facility in Yemassee, S.C., prompting police to urge residents to lock their doors and windows until the primates have been captured.

The Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center is home to the 43 escaped female rhesus macaque primates, which police describe as very young and weighing between 6 and 7 pounds.

“The Yemassee Police Department, in collaboration with Alpha Genesis, have initiated search teams to help locate the escaped primates. Alpha Genesis currently have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food,” police said in a statement.

“The public is advised to avoid the area as these animals are described as skittish and any additional noise or movement could hinder their safe capture.”

The monkeys had never been used for testing due to their young age, and they’re too young to carry diseases, the statement said.

Attempts to reach Alpha Genesis for comment went unanswered.

Speaking to CBS News, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard said that a caretaker accidentally left a door to the enclosure unsecured. The ensuing escape, he said, was like an all-too-literal version of monkey see, monkey do.

“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” Westergaard said. “It was a group of 50 and seven stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”

Even though he called the escape “frustrating,” Westergaard said he hoped the monkeys would ultimately return home of their own free will.

Forty-three monkeys escaped from a compound used for medical research in South Carolina but the nearby police chief said there is “almost no danger” to the public.

“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.

The Rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility Wednesday when a new employee didn’t fully shut an enclosure, Alexander said.

The company usually handles escapes on site, but the monkeys got outside the compound about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee, Alexander said.

“The handlers know them well and usually can get them back with fruit or a little treat,” Alexander told The Associated Press by phone.

But rounding up these escapees is taking some more work. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting up traps and using thermal imaging cameras to recapture the monkeys on the run, the chief said.

“There is almost no danger to the public,” Alexander said.

People living nearby need to shut their windows and doors so the monkeys can’t find a place to hide inside and if they see the primates, call 911 so company officials and police can capture them.

Alpha Genesis provides primates for research worldwide at its compound about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website. The company did not respond to an email asking about Wednesday’s escape.

In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped as well as for an incident that left a few others without water and other problems with how the monkeys were housed.

Officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2104 and an additional 19 got out in 2016.