Monkeys on the loose in St Louis after four-day search

4 hours agoIan AikmanKimberly Brinker via Getty ImagesAgents are looking for more than one vervet monkey in the US city (stock picture)Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St Louis, Missouri, sparking confusion and concern from the city's animal control officials, who said they do not know where the primates came from.The monkeys have been running free since at least Thursday, when they were first spotted roaming the streets. Residents have been warned to avoid the exotic animals, as they could be "unpredictable or aggressive under stress".It is unclear how many monkeys are at large, but officials believe there is more than one, and initial reports suggested there were four.Despite search efforts, the primates had not been found as of Sunday evening, the city's health department, which handles animal control, told BBC News.A primate expert from St Louis Zoo has identified the animals as vervet monkeys, the health department said.Vervets are small monkeys, native to Africa, with pale fur and black faces. The health department describes them as "very intelligent and social" but warns of their potential danger if stressed."At this time, we do not know where these animals came from," said Justen Hauser, the St Louis health department's bureau chief of environmental health.Owning exotic animals like primates is prohibited in St Louis, he added, so officials are not aware of any homes where "illegal monkeys" may have been kept.Sightings of the monkeys have been reported in the O'Fallon Park neighbourhood in the north of the city, and Hauser believed they were still in this area on Sunday."Original reports suggested there were four animals, but we cannot confirm an actual number at this time, only that there is more than one," Hauser said.Marva Young, who lives in the neighbourhood, told local news network KSDK: "I think of the danger, because that's a wild animal."Another resident told the network it was "crazy" that they could be nearby.Pictures of the primates perched on a porch-side wall and standing on two legs near a parked car have been shared on social media.Animal care and control officers have patrolled the area but have not yet managed to locate the monkeys."We are working to get an idea of where they may be hiding or seeking food," Hauser said."We want to stress that residents should not approach these monkeys or try to capture them."Instead, people should report sightings to the health department, he said."Once captured, the monkeys will be transported to a facility certified to care for exotic animals."Though owning primates in the city is prohibited, a St Louis Public Radio report from last year said Missouri ranked highly in primate ownership, with "at least 35 to 50 primates" bought and sold each year.The monkeys are not native to the US, but a colony of vervets lives in the wild in Florida. They are believed to be the descendants of escapees from a research centre near Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s.