Dallas Zoo Series of animal escapes, deaths and thefts at Dallas Zoo

Really feeling terrible for the staff at Dallas, I can't imagine the stress of having so many serious incidents, especially in such a short time. Even very minor accidental animal escapes are incredibly stressful in my experience, but this is on another level.

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but could someone who's familiar with Dallas Zoo give me an idea of the type of exhibits that have been broken into? It seems like cutting through exhibit mesh has been a pattern, but I've never visited and I haven't been able to find many photos of the exhibits in question.
 
Phoenicopterus said:
I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but could someone who's familiar with Dallas Zoo give me an idea of the type of exhibits that have been broken into? It seems like cutting through exhibit mesh has been a pattern, but I've never visited and I haven't been able to find many photos of the exhibits in question.
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Both the clouded leopard and spectacled langur exhibits are both mesh fabric as well as one of the two emperor tamarin exhibits (the one in the Children’s Zoo). The other emperor tamarin exhibit by the Prime Meridian Cafe is more small gauge chain link if I remember right.

The lappet-faced vulture exhibit was open topped in a fairly lushly planted area near the kopje exhibits.

I really hope they catch the person/people responsible for this. It is very disheartening.
 
This Dallas Zoo situation is so strange. Since the vulture was killed, I doubt it was an animal rights thing. I wonder if it's someone's idea of a prank? Or maybe someone attempting to steal animals for profit or personal use? Like, they don't say how the vulture died, so it's possible that she was killed by someone manhandling her in an attempt to capture her. (well, if she died in a botched capture attempt, that would make an animal rights activist a possible culprit again. Though I still feel like a profit motive is more likely) Maybe this whole this is just a product of the increased insanity we're seeing in a post-COVID world, and zoo crimes are gonna be the hot new thing.

I'm sure that the zoo and the police have more information than they've released. Hopefully they have a good idea of the culprit, or some good clues that will find them. I'd be VERY surprised if they didn't have anything on security cameras. Like, come on, cameras are everywhere these days!

Several monkeys were recently stolen from a zoo in Louisiana. Given the distance, I doubt it's related, but it's hard not to consider it. I wonder if other zoos are looking into increased security measures.
 
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TheMightyOrca said:
This Dallas Zoo situation is so strange. Since the vulture was killed, I doubt it was an animal rights thing. I wonder if it's someone's idea of a prank? Or maybe someone attempting to steal animals for profit or personal use? Like, they don't say how the vulture died, so it's possible that she was killed by someone manhandling her in an attempt to capture her. (well, if she died in a botched capture attempt, that would make an animal rights activist a possible culprit again. Though I still feel like a profit motive is more likely) Maybe this whole this is just a product of the increased insanity we're seeing in a post-COVID world, and zoo crimes are gonna be the hot new thing.

I'm sure that the zoo and the police have more information than they've released. Hopefully they have a good idea of the culprit, or some good clues that will find them. I'd be VERY surprised if they didn't have anything on security cameras. Like, come on, cameras are everywhere these days!

Several monkeys were recently stolen from a zoo in Louisiana. Given the distance, I doubt it's related, but it's hard not to consider it. I wonder if other zoos are looking into increased security measures.
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The whole thing is bizarre and very worrying to me. I’ve been watching the situation since the day of the clouded leopard incident and, if I’m being honest, my mind’s been racing trying to understand what’s going on. I have to remember though that, as the general public, we’re definitely missing a lot of information that’s been kept confidential for the sake of the criminal investigations. I’m tempted to speculate but I also think it’s important not to go too crazy!

Hopefully they get to the bottom of this whole thing soon.
 
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Shocking to have yet another incident at Dallas. Hopefully the culprit/s are caught soon.

From what's been revealed so far, I wouldn't be surprised if this person or these persons, are in fact just doing this for profit as @TheMightyOrca mentioned. The vulture thing may have to do with whoever it was 'accidentally' injuring and killing the vulture during an attempted capture. It also makes sense when you consider holes were in the enclosure - this may have been from the offender in an attempt to catch the animals in a way that would just seem like the animals 'escaping'.
 
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Phoenicopterus said:
The whole thing is bizarre and very worrying to me. I’ve been watching the situation since the day of the clouded leopard incident and, if I’m being honest, my mind’s been racing trying to understand what’s going on. I have to remember though that, as the general public, we’re definitely missing a lot of information that’s been kept confidential for the sake of the criminal investigations. I’m tempted to speculate but I also think it’s important not to go too crazy!

Hopefully they get to the bottom of this whole thing soon.
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Ha ha yeah, it's definitely tempting to speculate. Exactly what I'm doing. I am on True Crime Brain right now, please help me. But I'm refraining from accusing zoo employees or anyone specific. Public speculation on high profile crimes can do a lot of damage to innocent peoples' lives, I don't want to contribute to that.

If the zoo has reason to believe the tamarins were taken, I'm leaning towards profit motive, personally. Leopard exhibit was cut open but they weren't able to catch the leopard. Monkey exhibit was cut open, but something prevented them from stealing. (maybe the monkeys hid or climbed beyond reach? Or the thieves realized that someone was nearby?) Tried to steal vulture, but it resisted and possibly got aggressive and was killed in the struggle. Finally, they had a successful theft with the tamarins.

Profit motive becomes more plausible if the animals are especially valuable. I'm not super familiar with the exotic pet market, so correct me if I'm wrong on these things. I really doubt that endangered vultures are common on the exotic pet market, I don't think it's even legal to have them as pets in the first place. (in the US) So, could potentially be valuable if they had a buyer. Clouded leopards, as far as I've seen, don't seem to be common on the exotic pet market. Like, I don't think I've ever seen someone have one as a pet, and I don't see listings online for cubs, I don't even see them at sanctuaries for exotic pets. So they could be potentially be valuable. Small primates can be a little harder to pin down, but it doesn't seem like langurs and emperor tamarins are common? At least, I'm not seeing anything on a quick search. Someone who knows more about the exotic pet market could provide more valuable input.
 
Jambo said:
Shocking to have yet another incident at Dallas. Hopefully the culprit/s are caught soon.

From what's been revealed so far, I wouldn't be surprised if this person or these persons, are in fact just doing this for profit as @TheMightyOrca mentioned. The vulture thing may have to do with whoever it was 'accidentally' injuring and killing the vulture during an attempted capture. It also makes sense when you consider holes were in the enclosure - this may have been from the offender in an attempt to catch the animals in a way that would just seem like the animals 'escaping'.

I'm also now fully convinced it has to be someone within the zoo's staff. Security would've been upped following the last incidents, so I struggle to see how someone could continue doing this.
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Oh, trying to stage thefts as escapes would make a lot of sense!

I feel like profit motive is the most plausible largely because that's just such a common reason for crimes. Probably THE most common reason. Especially theft. And from my admittedly limited knowledge of the exotic pet market, it seems like the targeted animals might be valuable.
 
TheMightyOrca said:
Ha ha yeah, it's definitely tempting to speculate. Exactly what I'm doing. I am on True Crime Brain right now, please help me. But I'm refraining from accusing zoo employees or anyone specific. Public speculation on high profile crimes can do a lot of damage to innocent peoples' lives, I don't want to contribute to that.

If the zoo has reason to believe the tamarins were taken, I'm leaning towards profit motive, personally. Leopard exhibit was cut open but they weren't able to catch the leopard. Monkey exhibit was cut open, but something prevented them from stealing. (maybe the monkeys hid or climbed beyond reach? Or the thieves realized that someone was nearby?) Tried to steal vulture, but it resisted and possibly got aggressive and was killed in the struggle. Finally, they had a successful theft with the tamarins.

Profit motive becomes more plausible if the animals are especially valuable. I'm not super familiar with the exotic pet market, so correct me if I'm wrong on these things. I really doubt that endangered vultures are common on the exotic pet market, I don't think it's even legal to have them as pets in the first place. (in the US) So, could potentially be valuable if they had a buyer. Clouded leopards, as far as I've seen, don't seem to be common on the exotic pet market. Like, I don't think I've ever seen someone have one as a pet, and I don't see listings online for cubs, I don't even see them at sanctuaries for exotic pets. So they could be potentially be valuable. Small primates can be a little harder to pin down, but it doesn't seem like langurs and emperor tamarins are common? At least, I'm not seeing anything on a quick search. Someone who knows more about the exotic pet market could provide more valuable input.
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I thoroughly agree on your take here.

Emperor Tamarins aren't entirely popular in pet trade to my knowledge, and they do do cost quite a bit compared to Marmosets.
 
I was struggling at first to imagine how an individual managed to leave the zoo with the animals on their person, and then I shuddered to remember some of the terrifying things I have heard about animals smuggled into airports. I hope wherever the tamarins are, they can still be recovered and returned to their enclosure once this individual is caught.
 
JVM said:
I was struggling at first to imagine how an individual managed to leave the zoo with the animals on their person, and then I shuddered to remember some of the terrifying things I have heard about animals smuggled into airports. I hope wherever the tamarins are, they can still be recovered and returned to their enclosure once this individual is caught.
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Yes, fingers absolutely crossed the Tamarins are okay.
 
Echoing Tinopup here, please withhold the speculation. The zoo and the police will obviously have more information than is released in the news. The staff have enough on their plate without additional theories cropping up unnecessarily on the internet. Right now they're having to go into work not knowing what might have happened overnight. Loose animals are stressful enough even when not accompanied by deliberate release, killing, and theft. I know we all have our own thoughts but it's really not helping anybody by speculating left and right during this ongoing situation.
 
I’m not familiar with the exhibits at Dallas. Was the vulture that was killed cohabitating with any other species or is it just a solo vulture exhibit?
 
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