CNN
—

Residents of a small South Carolina town find themselves in the middle of a real-life game of Jumanji after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility on Wednesday.

The rhesus monkey primates are all still at large after their escape from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, city administrator Matthew Garnes said late Thursday morning.

“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering their homes,” Yemassee police said in a Facebook post.

In an update shortly before noon, police said Alpha Genesis had been monitoring the monkeys and trying to entice them with food.

Police advised those who encounter the missing monkeys to have no contact with them and to call 911 immediately. The young primates — all female and between 6 and 7 pounds — have never been used for testing and are too young to carry diseases, police said.

“They are described as being very skittish and will congregate in groups,” Garnes said. The monkeys are nonviolent but can become restless from hunger, he said.

Traps have been set to catch the fleeing animals and police have used thermal imaging cameras to find them. Police were works closely with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and state agriculture and wildlife officials.

CNN has reached out to Alpha Genesis for comment.

The Alpha Genesis Test Facility specializes in non-human primate research for the biomedical research community. It is one of the largest primate facilities in the country, specifically designed for monkeys, with more than 40 hectares of land for research and breeding purposes, according to its website.

This isn’t the first rodeo in South Carolina with free-roaming monkeys. The Beaufort County Post and Courier reported that in 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from the same facility but were returned after six hours.

This is a developing story and will be updated.