Baboons escape biomedical research facility in Texas

CHICAGO: Three baboons escaped a Texas biomedical research facility over the weekend, getting a brief taste of freedom from a life as subjects of medical experiments.

The animals were among 1,100 baboons at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, which uses primates to study chronic and infectious diseases like Ebola, malaria and HIV.

The escapees were housed in an open-air enclosure surrounded by perimeter walls that fold inward to prevent the animals from jumping out.

The walls were no match, though, for the clever baboons.

They took a 208-litre barrel – placed in the corral as an “enrichment tool” – and propped it up near the perimeter wall, the institute said.

One after another, the baboons climbed on top and jumped over the fence.

“It’s a typical ‘monkey see, monkey do’, and the others follow,” the facility’s attending veterinarian, John Bernal, told KSAT television news.

A fourth baboon also scaled the wall, but had second thoughts and returned to the enclosure. The other three made a run for freedom.

Two were cornered in nearby trees.

The third managed to make it to a major road, where one driver captured smartphone video of wranglers chasing after the sprinting baboon.

The animals were captured within 30 minutes of their escape, the company said.