Police Arrest 24-Year-Old for Allegedly Stealing Monkeys From Dallas Zoo
The Dallas Zoo’s two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, were found in a closet in Lancaster after being stolen from the facility.
After weeks on high alert, the nail-biting incidents at the Dallas Zoo may have finally come to an end. Dallas police arrested 24-year-old Davion Irvin on Friday and accused him of messing with several animal enclosures, which led to the escape of a clouded leopard on Jan. 13, and stealing two emperor tamarin monkeys on Jan. 30.
Irvin was charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary, the Dallas Morning News reported, and was booked into to the Dallas County Jail with a $25,000 bond.
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Police arrested Irvin after they received word that he was spotted at the Dallas World Aquarium, where they believed he was getting ready to commit another crime. Dallas Zoo officials said that Irvin had never been an employee or volunteer at the zoo and is believed to have obtained access as a normal visitor.
A police spokesperson told the Morning News that Irvin had already confessed to “some of the crimes at the zoo” but did not provide more information.
Irvin was detained just days after police released a photo of him on social media and stated that they wanted to speak with him in connection to the incidents. The incidents drove the zoo to increase security at the facility, which included adding cameras as well as extra security guards at night. Officials also restricted the animals from going out at night.
It’s still not clear why Irvin wanted to take so many animals from the zoo. Harrison Edell, the Dallas Zoo’s vice president for animal care and conservation, told The New York Times that the zoo had gone through an extremely difficult time in recent weeks.
“It’s been one gut punch after another,” Edell said. “From a standpoint of trying not to lose faith in humanity, if these incidents were all the same person, how is that possible?”
Click through to learn about what happened to animals at the zoo’s recent incidents and join us in hoping that the poor things are done with the drama.
Nova
The mystery at the Dallas Zoo began with Nova, a clouded leopard who went missing on Jan. 13. Clouded leopards are smaller than regular leopards and are not danger a to people. Employees found a tear in Nova’s mesh enclosure and shut down the zoo while they searched for her. She was found later that day near her habitat unharmed.
Langur Monkeys
The day after Nova escaped from her enclosure, officials found a similar cut in the mesh enclosure of the zoo’s langur monkeys. Luckily, none of the monkeys escaped.
Dallas police said they believed Irvin was also connected to the langur monkey incident but had not been charged yet.
Bella and Finn
More than a week later on Jan. 30, the zoo’s two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, also disappeared. Like in the previous cases, the monkeys’ enclosure appeared to have been “intentionally compromised.” Emperor tamarin monkeys are small, typically weighing less than a pound, and are known for their distinctive mustaches.
Bella and Finn Found
Dallas police found Bella and Finn one day after they were taken in the closet of an abandoned home in Lancaster, a Dallas suburb about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away from the zoo. They were cold and hungry, but unharmed. The monkeys are currently in quarantine at the zoo because they were taken off the premises.
Pin
Although police have made an arrest in connection to the incidents at the zoo, there is still one sad mystery yet to be resolved. Shortly after Nova was found, the zoo found Pin, one of its endangered lappet-faced vultures, dead in his enclosure. Pin had been at the zoo for 33 years.
Zoo officials described Pin’s death as “unusual” and said it did “not appear to be from natural causes.” A necropsy conducted by the zoo found that the vulture had suffered a “wound,” although officials did not provide additional details.
Dallas police said on Friday that their investigation into Pin’s death was still ongoing.
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