Is anybody else obsessed with the news about the monkeys who escaped from a Yemassee, South Carolina research facility?

If you haven’t heard, 43 rhesus macaque primates got loose on Thursday when a caretaker didn’t properly secure the door to their enclosure. The police are instructing residents to lock their doors and windows. They are also warning people to steer clear of the animals. 

WOW! Moments take you out of the normal news cycle. 

Here is my random string of thoughts:

• The research facility is trying to lure the monkeys into traps with food. Turns out, they like apples. Hmm …no bananas. Noted.
• Apparently, the facility had won a federal contract to oversee a colony of 3,500 “free-range” rhesus monkeys on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, aka “Monkey Island.” I am now adding “Visit Monkey Island” to my WOW! List.
• Just googled “Monkey Island” and discovered that humans are forbidden from visiting it “for good reasons.” Noted. I am now removing “Visit Monkey Island” from my WOW! List. Maybe I’ll just go to the zoo this weekend.
• I would totally open my door to a rhesus monkey. The group that escaped are all six- to seven-pound baby females. Awww…
• I would totally (and likely immediately) regret opening my door to a rhesus monkey. They’re described as being “bold, extremely curious, and adventurous.” I have lots of breakables.
• Rhesus monkeys are also “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans.” So, maybe it would work out after all. 
• The CEO of the research facility told CBS News: “It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go, and the others go. It was a group of 50 and seven stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”
• I write about leadership for Fast Company, and I am now wondering about the qualities of the rhesus leader. Is she a visionary leader? Servant leader? Authoritarian? Charismatic? I’d like to meet her.
• If I was one of the 50 monkeys, I would have been in the group that stayed behind. I’m a rule follower. 
• If my sister was in the group, she 100% would have bolted and probably been the leader. 
• The escape monkeys are probably having the time of their lives!
• When (or if) they’re caught, what will the 43 escapees tell the seven who stayed behind? And will the seven have regrets? 
• I’ve now decided if I get a chance to escape, I’m going to take it. I’m not sure what I’m escaping from, but YOLO. 

I’ll be monitoring the story. And putting an apple on my front steps. Has a news story ever captured your attention?