Monkeys escape!

by Wesley Howard

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On 3 February 2023, a monkey escaped from her enclosure at the Dallas zoo. The monkey in question is a clouded leopard named Nova. Nova escaped through a hole in the metal fencing in her enclosure. The escape gained the attention of a swat team that was sent to look for the leopard. The SWAT team used police drowns and had many ground members searching on foot for the leopard. The leopard was found in the zoo not far from her cage. Another one of the same holes was found in the langur monkey enclosure.

The following week of the escape another animal, a lappet-faced vulture, was found dead via what the Dallas police say is ”An unusual wound that points to this not being a natural death.” Later, two more tamarin monkeys were taken or had escaped through a similar hole as Nova. They were both found dead about 15 miles away from the zoo. Police arrested Davion Irvin, who was accused of stealing the monkeys and cutting into the enclosures. He was charged with animal cruelty and burglary. Davion Irvin told police that ”he would do it again.”He also said,”I kept the animals in my vacant house where I keep my animals.” From a survey on an animal activist forum, activists said “we need more security for these animals, especially the endangered ones.”