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two monkeys taken from the Dallas Zoo They were found Tuesday in an abandoned house after having disappeared the previous day from their compound, which had been opened.
Dallas police said they found the two emperor tamarins after receiving a tip that they might be in an abandoned house in Lancaster, located just south of the zoo.
The animals were safely placed in a locker and then returned to the zoo for veterinary evaluation.
But no arrests have been made, deepening a mystery at the zoo that includes other fences cut, the escape of a little leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture.
Police said they were still working to determine whether or not the incidents in recent weeks were related.
Two emperor tamarins were found in an abandoned house on Tuesday. Money can be seen hidden in a closet where Dallas police found the couple.
This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows an emperor tamarin living at the zoo where the monkeys were captured Monday.
In a statement referring to the missing monkeys, the zoo added earlier this week: “Emperor tamarins would likely be staying close to home – the zoo searched near their habitat and on zoo grounds and did not locate them.” .
“It was clear that the habitat had been intentionally compromised. Based on the initial assessment by the Dallas Police Department, they have reason to believe that the marmosets were taken.
Lynn Cuny, founder and president of Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Kendalia, Texas, said she wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out the monkeys were taken to sell. Depending on the buyer, she said, such a jumpsuit could sell for “several thousand” dollars.
“Primates are high-value animals in the wildlife pet trade in this country,” Cuny said. “Everyone who wants one wants it for the wrong reasons: there’s never a good reason to keep a wild animal as a pet.”
She said there were a variety of ways the captured monkeys could have been endangered, from improper diet to exposure to the cold. Temperatures in Dallas dipped to 20 degrees Tuesday during a winter storm.
A series of “unusual” incidents at the zoo over the past two weeks has prompted a third police investigation after what appears to be a campaign against the zoo.
The zoo was closed on January 13 for a day after the big cat named Nova went missing and was finally found near its habitat.
Police said a cutting tool was intentionally used to make the opening in his compound. A similar wound was also found in a langur monkey enclosure, though none emerged or appeared injured, police said.
On January 21, an endangered 35-year-old vulture named Pin was found dead, and the zoo issued a statement saying his death did not appear to be “natural.”
The zoo’s president and CEO, Gregg Hudson, said the vulture had “an injury” and that the “circumstances of death are unusual.”
The Dallas Police Department was again alerted, and the zoo admitted they contacted authorities due to “recent incidents.”
The search for Nova, the missing clouded leopard, shut down the Dallas Zoo as police helped search for the animal that officials described as non-dangerous.
Zoo officials discovered after Nova’s escape that its habitat had been cut off, along with a langur monkey’s enclosure on January 13.
On January 21, an endangered 35-year-old vulture named Pin was found dead, and the zoo issued a statement saying his death did not appear to be “natural.”
After the death of Pin the vulture, the zoo added that they added additional cameras throughout the zoo and increased security patrols at the site.
They said they would continue to ‘expand’ security and safety measures’ to ‘keep animals and staff safe’.
The zoo also counts lions, tigers and cheetahs among its predators, as well as elephants and crocodiles, which could cause a stir if they escape.
Nova’s enclosure is right next to where the monkeys were taken, in the north of the zoo, while the vulture was killed in the Wilds of Africa exhibit.
Animals have escaped from the Dallas Zoo enclosures 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.