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Two monkeys are the latest animals to go missing under mysterious circumstances at the Dallas Zoo after a series of bizarre incidents.
Police are investigating after two emperor tamarins were “deliberately” removed from their enclosure, and authorities suspect the fences were cut down to take the primates away.
No arrests have been made in connection with the missing monkeys, and police decline to say whether the incident is related to the death of an endangered vulture and the disappearance of a clouded leopard.
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 are investigating after two emperor tamarins were ‘deliberately’ removed from their enclosure
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.
Police said a tool had been used to punch an opening in their fence, as well as in a langur monkey enclosure, though none escaped.
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.”
In a statement referring to the missing monkeys, the zoo added: “The 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.
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’.
Staff discovered that Nova the clouded leopard was missing, speaking of a big cat hunt on the property.
Officials initially feared the strange beast might be in the community, but were unsure whether or not it had been stolen.
They previously said they believed the leopard, which weighs up to 25 pounds, was not dangerous and originally thought it was hiding at the site, a theory that turned out to be correct.
However, the Dallas police continue to investigate the incident, and it appears that Nova has also opened up his precinct.
Authorities suspect the fences were deliberately cut down to take away the primates after the spate of incidents
Police cars outside the Dallas Zoo as workers such as police officers searched for the missing cloud leopard earlier this month.
Ed Hansen, executive director of the American Association of Zookeepers, said he couldn’t recall a zoo that faced similar incidents so often.
“Sounds like someone really has a problem 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 the one in Dallas would have a security patrol.
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.
The Dallas Zoo has asked the local police department for help to investigate the death of one of its vultures, a fact considered “suspicious” by the authorities.
Officials initially feared the rare leopard might be in the community, but were unsure whether or not it had been stolen.