Two monkeys believed to have been stolen from the Dallas Zoo have been found at an abandoned home in Lancaster, Texas.
Zoo officials told The Dallas Morning News that the two emperor tamarin monkeys are alive and will be transported back to the zoo where veterinarians will tend to the animals. The zoo added that further details would be released Wednesday.
NEW: After nearly 36 hours missing, the @DallasZoo confirms their beloved Emperor Tamarins Bella and Finn are headed back home. Much more tomorrow on the @TODAYshow: pic.twitter.com/82Kb4npMZr
— Morgan Chesky (@BreakingChesky) February 1, 2023
The monkeys were located after Dallas police received a tip that they might be in an abandoned house in Lancaster, a city located around 15 miles away from Dallas.
The Dallas Police Department said on Twitter that the two monkeys were found in a closet inside the house and posted a photo showing one of the monkeys in the small room.
Dallas Police, with the help of the Lancaster Police Department, located the two missing tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo at an abandoned home in Lancaster.
Pictured is one of the animals still inside the closet of the house.
The monkeys have been returned to the zoo. pic.twitter.com/vfWj7aAt3T— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) February 1, 2023
There have not yet been any arrests in relation to the disappearance of the monkeys, which occurred Monday. However, zoo officials previously said their habitat appeared to have been “intentionally compromised,” The Dallas Morning News reported.
This is the latest event in a series of odd happenings that have occurred at the Dallas Zoo this month. One instance resulted in the temporary disappearance of Nova, the clouded leopard, who escaped her enclosure after it had also been cut open. Despite the odd occurrences, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which grants zoos their accreditation, has expressed their “utmost confidence” in the Dallas Zoo. (RELATED: LA Zoo Held ‘All Ages’ Drag Show With Tickets For ‘Children’ And ‘Infants’)
“Dallas Zoo and its animals are victims of acts, presumably intended to take animals for personal reasons, or worse, to be trafficked,” Dan Ashe, the president of the group, told The Dallas Morning News. “AZA and its entire member community stand squarely with Dallas Zoo and condemn these acts of violence against the zoo, its animals, and the entire Dallas community.”