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2 monkeys go missing from the Dallas Zoo in the latest suspicious animal-related incident

An emperor tamarin monkey at the Dallas Zoo. Police and zoo officials say two of the monkeys may have been stolen from their enclosure on Jan. 30, 2023.
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An emperor tamarin monkey at the Dallas Zoo. Police and zoo officials say two of the monkeys may have been stolen from their enclosure on Jan. 30, 2023.

In the latest of a series of incidents at the Police believe two tamarin monkeys were stolen from their enclosure the morning of Jan. 30.

Two tamarin monkeys may have been stolen from the Dallas Zoo Monday in what would be just the latest in a bizarre string of animal-related incidents at the zoo in recent weeks.

Dallas Zoo employees reported the two monkeys missing from their enclosure Monday morning. In a release, zoo officials said emperor tamarin monkeys are likely to stay close to home, but when zoo employees searched near the habitat, the animals didn't turn up.

After a preliminary investigation, police determined the enclosure had been intentionally cut open and now believe the monkeys were stolen.

The news comes a little more than a week after a male lappet-faced vulture named Pin was found dead at the zoo. Police and zoo officials said they found the bird "wounded" at the scene on Jan. 21, and its death is being investigated as suspicious.

The bird's death is also being investigated in connection with a leopard named Nova who went missing for hours after its own enclosure was tampered with on Jan. 13. Later that same day, it was discovered that a langur monkey enclosure was cut open, though zoo officials said none of the animals inside escaped.

Police believe those three incidents are related, and a $10,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to an arrest and prosecution.

A police spokesperson said they have not yet determined if the missing tamarins are connected to the previous incidents.

Toluwani Osibamowo is a general assignments reporter for KERA. She previously worked as a news intern for Texas Tech Public Media and copy editor for Texas Tech University’s student newspaper, The Daily Toreador, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is originally from Plano.