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Santa Fe police and Galveston County authorities are leading the search for the animal. Following calls from citizens, the department said it spent \"approximately an hour and a half\" Tuesday searching for the animal, after doing the same one day earlier, but could not find it either time.

\"The Santa Fe Police Department has been unable to substantiate that there is a primate on the loose, or that anyone has been attacked,\" police said in a statement. \"Please see the Santa Fe Police Department's Facebook page for information on what to do and don't do should someone come in contact with a primate.\"

Police wrote on Facebook that they were \"looking into this matter.\"

\"PHOTO:
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
PHOTO: A chimpanzee smiles in this stock photo.
>

It was not immediately clear how the chimp escaped, or from where.

The animal shelter told KTRK that all residents in the area who have the required permit to own a chimp have not reported their animal missing.

Chimpanzees are one of humans closest relatives and share about 98% of their genes with people.

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