Following the mysterious disappearance and subsequent rescue of two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo, the organization is offering a $25,000 reward for information about the thief.
“Emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, were so happy to snuggle into their nest sack here at the Zoo last night!” the zoo tweeted. “Our vet and animal care teams have said, beyond losing a bit of weight, they show no signs of injury.”
“Both started eating and drinking almost immediately once the team completed health exams,” the zoo continued.
However, the public will have to wait to see the rescued emperors, as “they will need to clear a quarantine period before they are reintroduced to their Zoo habitat.”
“We cannot thank the Dallas PD enough for their quick response and assistance in locating the tamarins,” the Dallas Zoo expressed. “We are pleased that video from our surveillance cameras – which we shared with DPD – seems to have been critical in generating a tip that led to the recovery.”
Additionally, the reward for information that “leads to the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for these incidents” was increased from $10,000 to $25,000.
The Dallas PD recovered the monkeys after a tip suggested they had been taken to an abandoned house in Lancaster — a town nearly 12 miles south of the zoo, as reported by The Dallas Express.
The disappearance and recovery of the monkeys marks the fourth suspicious incident the zoo has dealt with in recent weeks.
First, a clouded leopard escaped from its habitat after its enclosure had been tampered with on January 13. The langur monkey enclosure was found with a similar cut the next week.
Following these events, an endangered vulture was discovered dead under suspicious circumstances on January 21. Most recently, the two emperor tamarin monkeys were allegedly stolen on Monday.
It should be noted that enclosures for the clouded leopards and tamarin monkeys are located next to each other on the outskirts of the Dallas Zoo. The vulture exhibit was also on the outer edge, albeit on the other side of the zoo.
Kari Streiber from the Dallas Zoo noted in a press release, “Our team is devastated by the unprecedented situation we have been faced with over these last few weeks.”
“This has made us take a hard look at the onsite security measures we have in place,” she continued. “Even with all the additional security measures we have put in place during the past two weeks, our animals and staff continue to be the target of these criminal acts.”
“The Zoo is evaluating our internal policies and identifying additional partners with whom we will work to further strengthen security measures to protect the Zoo, our animals, our staff, our guests, and our community,” the statement concluded.
The Animal Connection of Texas suggested to The Dallas Express that the profitable “exotic pet trade” could have prompted the theft, explaining, “There is little oversight of the sale and ownership of exotic animals in Texas, which could make it easy for thieves to offload these monkeys to a buyer.”
Additionally, Peter Young, an animal liberation activist who was the first person to be convicted for animal enterprise terrorism, went so far as to suggest to The Dallas Express that it could be “an inside job” based on “everything about what I’m seeing.”
In a press release provided to The Dallas Express, CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Dan Ashe claimed, “Dallas Zoo and its animals are victims of theft, presumably intended to take animals for personal reasons, or worse, to be trafficked.”
In the aftermath of the mysterious incidents at the Dallas Zoo, other Texas zoos have begun enhancing their security measures.
Avery Elander from the Fort Worth Zoo told The Dallas Express, “The safety and security of our guests, staff and animals is our utmost priority.”
“We have always had 24/7 zoo security onsite and cameras in all of our behind-the-scenes areas, keeper areas, and public areas,” she explained. “In light of recent incidents, the Fort Worth Zoo has increased patrols both during the day and throughout the night, checking perimeter fencing, back-of-house areas and habitat checks.”
