DALLAS, Texas — The Dallas Zoo in Texas is increasing the reward for information on the theft of emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn, since recovered, to $25,000, the zoo said Wednesday.
The Dallas Police Department on Tuesday morning released an image and surveillance video of an individual they were hoping to identify and interview in connection with the case. On Tuesday evening, the monkeys were located in an abandoned home in Lancaster.
“We are pleased that video from our surveillance cameras — which we shared with DPD — seems to have been critical in generating a tip that led to the recovery of the tamarins,” the zoo said Wednesday.
The zoo alerted the Dallas Police Department on Monday morning after discovering the missing monkeys. “It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised,” the zoo said in a statement at the time.
The investigation into the monkeys’ disappearance is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.
After being off site, the monkeys will remain in quarantine before returning to their habitat, the zoo said. A photo shared by the zoo shows Bella and Finn, “happy to snuggle into their nest sack here at the Zoo,” Tuesday night.
“Our vet and animal care teams have said, beyond losing a bit of weight, they show no signs of injury,” the zoo said.
The missing monkeys are the latest in a series of unusual incidents at the zoo, beginning with the disappearance and recovery of a clouded leopard named Nova earlier this month. Since then, other animal enclosures appear to have been intentionally cut, the zoo said, and last week a vulture named Pin died under suspicious circumstances.
