Topline

Two monkeys that went missing from the Dallas Zoo on Monday were found alive Tuesday afternoon inside the closet of a suburban Dallas home, according to police, who believe the animals were stolen from the zoo—the latest in a string of bizarre incidents at the zoo.

Key Facts

What We Don’t Know

It’s not clear what the motive was for the alleged abduction, or how the monkeys came to be in a closet.

Key Background

Zoo officials alerted police Monday morning that the monkeys were missing, with evidence showing their “habitat had been intentionally compromised.” Their disappearance was the latest in a growing list of increasingly bizarre incidents at the zoo, which started earlier this month when a clouded leopard briefly escaped before being located on zoo grounds several hours later. The zoo determined a cut in the leopard’s enclosure allowed it to get loose, and a similar cut was found the next day on the langur monkey enclosure, though none of the primates escaped. The strange stretch took a macabre turn last week, when officials said the death of a vulture it had for 33 years did “not appear to be from natural causes.” The zoo has been closed this week and does not plan to reopen until at least Thursday due to an ongoing winter storm.

Further Reading

2 Monkeys Disappeared From Dallas Zoo—And Police Think They Were Stolen (Forbes)

Dallas Zoo Captures Escaped Leopard After All-Day Search Caused Shut Down (Forbes)