A truck full of monkeys crashed in Mississipfpi. We’ve been covering every surprising turn of the tragic story. Now, the final surviving monkey is retiring to a farm upstate (reportedly).

In late October, Forrest and 20 other Indochinese rhesus macaque monkeys found themselves locked in a semi truck for transport. They’d been bred at Tulane University, then sold to labs for experiments on new drugs.

Early police reports and warnings said aggressive monkeys infected with STDs had escaped. These reports were graphic. Authorities claimed the lab monkeys might have COVID, herpes, and hepatitis C. But they were mistaken. Forrest and his buddies had yet to undergo any experiments. He had just passed his final physical with flying colors.

Authorities and civilians took the disturbing report seriously. Understandably. And in a country with 12 guns for every 10 residents, Forrest and his buddies were in trouble.

How the last monkey made it out alive

Of the monkeys that survived the truck crash and escaped into the woods, authorities shot five. Civilians shot two. A terrified mother sniped one near her house while her children watched. A preacher shot another.

Soon Forrest was the final monkey to survive the crash. He spent a week hiding in the woods before a local resident spotted him. Fortunately for Forrest, the headlines had shifted. The public had learned the monkeys were disease-free. The company transporting the monkeys sent out workers, and they recaptured Forrest.

So is it off to a lab and a life of experiments for Forrest? Nope. The company decided to place him out. Forrest will spend the rest of his days at the Popcorn Park Animal Refuge in Lacey Township, New Jersey. You can visit him on the seven-acre reserve between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on any day but Wednesday.