Two monkeys are the latest animals to go missing in mysterious circumstances at Dallas Zoo after a string of bizarre incidents.
Police are investigating after two emperor tamarin monkeys were ‘deliberately’ taken from their enclosure – with authorities suspecting that the fences were cut in order to take the primates.
No arrests have been made in connection with the missing monkeys, and police are refusing to say if the incident is linked to the death of an endangered vulture and a clouded leopard going missing.
The Zoo was closed on January 13 for a day after the big cat called Nova went missing and was eventually found near her habitat.
Police are investigating after two emperor tamarin monkeys were ‘deliberately’ taken from their enclosure
A string of ‘unusual’ incidents at the Zoo over the past two weeks spawned a third police probe after what appears to be a campaign against the zoo
Police said that a tool had been used to cut an opening in its fencing, as well as in an enclosure of langur monkeys – though none escaped.
On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be ‘natural.’
Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson said the vulture had ‘a wound’, and that the ‘circumstances of the death are unusual’.
Dallas Police Department was again alerted, with the zoo admitting they contacted authorities because of ‘recent incidents’.
In a statement referring to the missing monkeys, the zoo added: ‘Emperor tamarin monkeys would likely stay close to home – the Zoo searched near their habitat and across Zoo grounds and did not locate them.
‘It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised. Based on the Dallas Police Department’s initial assessment, they have reason to believe the tamarins were taken.’
The search for missing clouded leopard Nova shut down the Dallas Zoo as police helped search for the animal that officials described as not dangerous
Zoo officials discovered after Nova’s escape that her habitat had been cut – along with that of a langur monkey enclosure on January 13
On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be ‘natural.’
After the death of Pin, the vulture, the zoo added that they had added additional cameras throughout the Zoo and increased onsite security patrols.
They said that they would continue to ‘expand’ safety and security measures’ to ‘keep animals and staff safe’.
Nova, the clouded leopard, was discovered to be missing by staff – speaking a big cat hunt on the property.
Officials initially feared the rare beast could be out in the community but were unsure whether she was stolen or not.
They earlier said they believed the leopard – who is up to 25lbs – was not dangerous and originally thought she was hiding on the site, a theory that proved correct.
However, Dallas Police are continuing to investigate the incident, with Nova appearing to also have her enclosure cut open.
Authorities suspect that the fences were cut to take the primates deliberately after the string of incidents
Police cars outside the Dallas Zoo as workers as cops hunted for the missing cloud leopard earlier this month
Ed Hansen, chief executive of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, said he could not recall a zoo facing similar incidents with such frequency.
‘It appears that somebody really has an issue with the Dallas Zoo,’ Hansen said.
Hansen, who described the Dallas Zoo’s reputation as ‘excellent’ within the industry, said accredited zoos have double-perimeter fencing and that a zoo as large as Dallas’ would have a security patrol.
Animals have escaped enclosures from the Dallas Zoo before.
Most notably, a 340-pound (154-kilogram) gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall in 2004 and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.
The Dallas Zoo has asked for aid from the local police department in investigating the death of one of its vultures – an occurrence deemed ‘suspicious’ by officials
Officials initially feared the rare leopard could be out in the community but were unsure whether she was stolen or not
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk