Two monkeys were reported missing from the Dallas Zoo on Monday, the latest in a series of animal incidents to rock the zoo, and now police are seeking help from the public.
Members of the zoo’s animal care team discovered two emperor tamarin monkeys missing from their habitats, which were “intentionally compromised,” the Dallas Zoo told ABC News in a statement.
Zoo officials alerted law enforcement officials about the missing monkeys, which have yet to be found.
Dallas police issued an image of a person on Tuesday, saying, “Detectives are looking to speak with the man in regard to the two tamarin monkeys missing from the Dallas Zoo.”
The Dallas Police Department is investigating the incident and said it believes “the animals were intentionally taken from the enclosure.”
This is the second time animals have gone missing from the zoo in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a clouded leopard escaped her enclosure after her fence was “intentionally cut,” officials said at the time. According to zoo officials, the female leopard, named Nova, was found the same day it went missing. Dallas police launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
In a similar incident this month, the Dallas Police Department opened a criminal investigation after finding a second fence cut inside the langur monkey habitat.
Despite the cut fence, no langurs escaped their habitat or appeared to be in danger or harmed, Dallas PD said in a press release.
On January 21, zoo workers found a rare and endangered vulture dead in its enclosure, describing its death as unusual. Both police and zoo officials said the vulture, named Pin, did not appear to have died from natural causes.
It’s unclear if the incidents with the clouded leopard, dead vulture and missing monkeys are related.