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Two Missing Monkeys May Have Been Victims Of An Animal Abduction: Dallas Zoo

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Leena Nasir Entertainment Reporter
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Dallas Zoo officials fear two of its monkeys may be victims of an animal abduction after noticing the monkeys were missing, the zoo announced Monday.

Representatives from the zoo reported evidence of tampering in the area containing the monkeys, according to CNN. The habitat was likely “intentionally compromised,” the zoo said in a Twitter statement. The two emperor tamarin monkeys have not been located at the time of writing, and the Dallas Police Department (DPD) has begun an investigation into the animals’ disappearance.

“It is believed the animals were intentionally taken from the enclosure,” police said, according to CNN.

“Emperor tamarin monkeys would likely stay close to home — the Zoo searched near their habitat and across Zoo grounds, and did not locate them,” according to the zoo.

The emperor tamarins’ disappearance is not the first case of animals going missing at the Dallas Zoo, CNN reported. The facility has been the site of at least four strange animal occurrences in January.

A clouded leopard named Nova went missing Jan. 13, resulting in the temporary closure of the zoo in an effort to locate the animal. The DPD launched a criminal investigation after authorities discovered a fence around the leopard’s enclosure appeared to have been “intentionally cut,” according to CNN. The leopard was located the next day. (RELATED: Clouded Leopard Escapes Habitat And Forces Dallas Zoo To Close, Staff Says)

Someone reportedly cut the closure of the zoo’s langur monkey habitat, but none of the monkeys escaped. Police have not yet been able to determine whether the incidents are related, according to CNN.

Pin the vulture was also found deceased at the zoo after suffering “an unusual wound and injuries,” in what Hudson has called a “suspicious” incident, according to CNN.

The zoo has stepped up its security measures by installing additional security cameras and more than doubling its overnight security. It has also increased its overnight staffing and has started limiting some animals from roaming in their enclosures at night, Dallas Zoo CEO Gregg Hudson said during a press conference earlier in January, CNN reported.

The investigation into the missing emperor tamarin monkeys is ongoing.