YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Yemassee Police Department says one of the escaped monkeys has been recovered unharmed.

The other 42 remain a few yards from the facility, jumping back and forth over the property’s fence.

Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard issued a statement after the monkey was safely recovered.

“One was found in a trap on our campus this morning eating apples. She is safe and sound and has since had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We saw many more just on the other side of the fence in the woods. We are watching them and they are watching us. They are a bit calmer than yesterday. They were having a nap this afternoon. More traps will be put out tonight. It’s a slow process. We are giving them the food they are used to, and the longer they remain calm and close by the better.”

Westergaard says the monkeys are staying close in the area and grabbing food from the staff and watching him and his team at the lab.

“There’s been multiple sightings over night and through the day in the adjacent woods. The monkeys are crossing back and forth between our property and the adjacent property. The monkeys seem at ease. They’re playing like juvenile monkeys will,”Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard says.

Efforts to recover all the animals will continue until all primates have been captured.

Locals in the area said they’re used to the “monkey farm.”

One gentleman, Issac Washington, a Yemassee resident, also helped with construction when Alpha Genesis was building their facility.

They started in the 60’s and built their walls along Castle Hall Road.

The monkeys are grabbing food such as fruit and vegetables provided by the staff before running away from the facility again.

Washington says because the town is pretty used to seeing monkeys along the fences and in the trees, they aren’t a bother.

“I walk every day coming by that monkey farm. Every day, and I ain’t scared because if I see something, and I look up at the tree and I see one, and I got my phone. Yes, I’m going to call and I’m going to stand there until they get there,” Washington says.

There are over 40 of these female monkeys, all about six to seven pounds. He says they have eyes on about 30 of them and believes the remaining 13 are deeper in the woods.

“They have not gone into the traps yet, but we are confident that we should be able to some more in the next few days. The key at this point is to get them to relax, keep people away and get them to feel comfortable so that we can recover them,” Westergaard says.

He said because the monkeys are younger, they have not been tested on, so they do not pose a threat to the public. In fact, he says everyone is separated in the facility, with no chance of cross-contamination.

“They were just screened a month ago, and everybody’s perfectly clean—no viruses, no contagious viruses,” he continued.

He said the monkeys are acting goofy and getting them back to their enclosures is a long process.

Police are urging people to refrain from entering the area surrounding the lab as the primates can be easily startled.

If anyone spots any remaining primates, they should call 911 and avoid any interaction with them.