Dallas Zoo mystery deepens as two missing monkeys found in closet at abandoned home

Feb 01, 2023

Two monkeys taken from Dallas Zoo have been found in a closet in an abandoned home – a day after they went missing from their enclosure.

Dallas Police said they found the emperor tamarin monkeys after getting a tip that they could be in the Lancaster home, located just south of the zoo.

The zoo alerted police on Monday morning that the white-whiskered pair were missing and that it was “clear” the habitat had been “intentionally compromised”.

No arrests have been made – deepening the mystery at the zoo that has included other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture.

Police said the monkeys were believed to have been taken after someone cut an opening in their enclosure. The monkeys were found in a closet and returned to the zoo for veterinary evaluation.

Detectives are still working to determine whether or not the incidents over the last few weeks are related.

On Tuesday, police released a photo and video of a man they said they wanted to talk to about the monkeys. The photo shows a man eating Doritos while walking, and in the video clip he is seen walking down a path.

The incident was the second time this month that an animal had gone missing at the zoo.

On 13 January, the zoo was closed after workers arrived in the morning and found that a clouded leopard named Nova had gone.

After a search that included police the leopard was found a day later near her habitat. Police said a cutting tool was intentionally used to make the opening in her enclosure.

Just over a week later on 21 January, an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin was found dead by workers.

Gregg Hudson, the zoo’s president and chief executive, called the death “very suspicious” and said the 35-year-old vulture had “a wound”. but declined to give further details.

Mr Hudson said in a news conference following Pin’s death that the vulture enclosure didn’t appear to be tampered with. Pin was one of four lappet-faced vultures at the zoo.

In 2004, a 154kg gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall at Dallas Zoo and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.

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