The Dallas Zoo says "it has become obvious that we need to make significant changes" to security after two emperor tamarin monkeys were stolen from their habitats and taken to a home in Lancaster earlier this week.
With the help of a photo released by Dallas Police and a tip shared with investigators, the monkeys were found in the closet of an empty home in suburban Dallas Tuesday. The zoo said the monkeys, Bella and Finn, were unharmed and were happy to be back home Tuesday, snuggled up in their habitat.
The theft of the tamarin monkeys was the fourth suspicious incident at the zoo since the start of the new year.
The first incident involved a clouded leopard, Nova, who escaped her enclosure after police discovered it had been intentionally cut. As Dallas Police opened a criminal investigation, zoo staff members the next day found a similar intentional cut on the enclosure that houses langur monkeys, all of whom were accounted for. Most recently, the death of an endangered vulture has been labeled suspicious due to an "unusual wound" zoo officials found on the bird.
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"Although our security program had worked in the past, it has become obvious that we need to make significant changes," zoo officials said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Background checks are already required for staff and volunteers before they can work on the property. The zoo said they have now contacted security officials to come up with new tactics to better secure the 106-acre zoo.
"Adding more cameras, additional security technology, additional fencing, more than double the security patrols, and increased overnight staffing are some of the many changes we have made and are continuing to expand," said zoo officials.
The Dallas Zoo said they will continue to evaluate the need for future changes in security to protect the animals, staff and visitors.
