Police find missing Dallas Zoo monkeys alive in abandoned home
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two tamarin monkeys taken from their enclosure at the Dallas Zoo on Jan. 30 were found the next day inside an abandoned home in Lancaster.
"We are thrilled beyond belief to share that our two emperor tamarin monkeys have been found. DPD located the animals early this evening, and called our team to come secure and transport the tamarins back to the zoo. They will be evaluated by our veterinarians this evening," said zoo spokeswoman Kari Streiber.
The monkeys were found, alive and unharmed hours after Dallas police asked for the public's help identifying a man they thought may have information about the monkeys.
The department shared surveillance images of him and later confirmed "he is not a person of interest currently."
On Monday morning, Dallas Zoo crews discovered that the monkeys were missing from their habitat and that it appeared their habitat was "intentionally compromised."
In a news release, zoo officials said the monkeys would likely stay close to home. But following a search of their habitat and zoo grounds, the tamarins were still missing as of the next day.
Four suspicious incidents, including the missing monkeys, have thrust the zoo into the spotlight in the last month.
On Jan. 13, a clouded leopard named Nova was intentionally let out of her habitat through a cut-out hole—a hole similar to one found shortly later in a monkey habitat, according to the zoo.
After searching all day, she was found sleeping in a tree that evening. Dallas police opened a criminal investigation into the incident, which is ongoing.
The day after Nova was reported missing, zoo officials found a cut in the enclosure housing langur monkeys, but none escaped.
Ten days after Nova was let out then found, someone killed an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin.
"This goes from being about malicious and gets into really criminal intent that's dangerous," Dallas Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson told reporters during a Jan. 23 press conference. "I've been in the zoo profession over 30-plus years, and never had a situation like what happened Saturday. It's unprecedented and very disturbing."
The animal care team was heartbroken over losing Pin. He lived at the zoo for the last 33 years and was one of only 27 lappet-faced vultures in captivity in the U.S. Pin was also one of four at the nationally acclaimed zoo and sired 11 offspring. In fact, Pin's first "grandkid" hatched in 2020.
"Deaths are always difficult. But this is especially challenging. There's a good chance lappet-faced vultures could move to critically endangered or even go extinct in our lifetime," said Harrison Edell, Dallas Zoo's executive vice president for animal care and conservation said that day.
After Pin's death, officials said they added additional night vision cameras throughout the zoo and increased onsite security during overnight hours.
"We have over 100-plus cameras on zoo grounds. We have also increased our surveillance system, and more than doubled our security presence and increased staff overnight," said Hudson.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joined the police department in their investigation into Pin's death. The zoo is also offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest or indictment.
While this isn't the first time an animal has escaped its habitat at the zoo, it appears to be the first time in the zoo's history, that these incidents are possibly intentional.
In 2004, a 300-pound, male gorilla named Jabari cleared a 14-foot wall and mauled three people. Police killed him.
In 2010, another gorilla named Tufani escaped a holding area when a worker left a door open. Tufani never got into a public area.
The following year, in 2011, the zoo declared a Code Red when an adult chimpanzee named Koko escaped through an unsecured gate in what authorities called a sort of "bedroom" area. She was shot with a dart gun in a hallway and sedated.
The zoo will provide an update Wednesday on the tamarin monkeys on social media, Streiber said.
Anyone with information about the missing monkeys is asked to call Detective Edwin Saracay at 214-671-4509 or at edwin.saracay@dallaspolice.gov.
