A Series of Incidents at The Dallas Zoo Continue

Over the past few weeks, the Dallas Zoo has been plagued with a series of incidents that include an escaped animal, the mysterious death of a vulture, and some animals being taken from zoo grounds.

This started on January 13th when a clouded leopard named Nova escaped from her enclosure after the fence was intentionally cut. That morning, the zoo announced a code blue reserved for non-dangerous animals out of their habitat. Nova was located around 4:40 p.m. on zoo grounds near her habitat. 

It's worth noting that on that same day, police investigating the incident found a similarly cut fence for the langur monkey habitat though no langurs were harmed or escaped. 

About a week later, on January 21st, a 35-year-old endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin was found dead within their enclosure. The vulture's death was deemed unusual as it was not from natural causes but a wound. 

Two days later, during a press conference over Pin’s death, the Dallas Zoo's president and CEO Gregg Hudson is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who has information on the incidents. Hudson also revealed during this press conference that their security camera coverage had substantially increased and doubled its security overnight. 

On January 30th, the zoo reported to the Dallas police department that two emperor tamarin monkeys named Bella and Finn were missing. It was discovered that the enclosure's fence had been intentionally cut. 

A day later Dallas Police Department released a photo of an unidentified man they wished to speak to about the monkeys. Several hours later, officials received a tip that the monkeys may be in an abandoned house in Lancaster, Texas. Officers found the monkeys in a closet in that abandoned home just a little before 5:00 p.m. 

Beyond losing a little weight, both monkeys show no sign of injury. Zoo staff must take them into quarantine before being reintroduced to their habitat. 

As of February 1st, the zoo's reward for anyone with information on these incidents has increased to $25,000. 

No arrests have been made in any of these cases, and investigations are still ongoing. It is unknown if all these incidents are connected or completely separate.

Update: Davion Irvin, 24, has been booked on charges of Animal Cruelty the night of February 2nd. He has admitted to cutting the enclosure fences of the clouded leopards and langur monkeys and stealing the emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn. Pin the vulture's death is still being investigated.