Stolen monkey found at Dallas Zoo: Davion Ervin, 24, arrested in case

Dallas, Texas – A 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged in Dallas. Suspected theft of a pair of emperor tamarins It was recovered unharmed in an abandoned house the day after it disappeared from the Dallas Zoo this week.

Davion Irvin was arrested late Thursday night and charged with six counts of cruelty to animals other than livestock, Dallas police said in a news release.

The media player video above was used in an earlier report.

Irvin is being held in the Dallas County Jail. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.

“Through preliminary research and public cooperation, we have identified Irvin as the man Dallas police were trying to talk to about the missing monkey at the Dallas Zoo,” police said.

The monkey’s disappearance follows a series of suspicious incidents at the zoo in recent weeks. leopardlangur monkeys, VultureMeanwhile, a Louisiana zoo reportedly had 12 squirrel monkeys stolen over the weekend.

Read: Dallas Zoo finds clouded leopard that was missing all day Friday

About 25 miles away in Lancaster, Texas, the case of the missing monkey in Dallas, as zoo officials released surveillance footage that “would have played a key role in generating clues leading to the tamarin’s recovery.” offered a bounty of $25,000.

Police also released a photo of an unidentified man they said they had been looking for and wanted to interview. . You can see another person walking in the opposite direction in the background. The photo shows a man in a navy hooded sweatshirt and navy and red beanie eating a bag of Doritos.

The zoo said the monkey went missing from its “intentionally endangered” habitat on Monday, adding that Dallas police have reason to believe the monkey was “intentionally taken out of its enclosure.” . The zoo was closed on Monday due to inclement weather, and although it had been previously announced, the closure was extended until Wednesday due to the ice storm.

How the animal left the zoo and invaded the Lancasters remains a mystery. The zoo said the returning monkey was quarantined.

“Emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn were so happy to snuggle up in their nests here at the zoo last night!” they said on Facebook. “Our veterinarian and animal care team said that not only did he lose a little weight, he showed no signs of injury, and he started eating and drinking as soon as the team finished his checkup on Tuesday night.

Other issues with leopards, langur monkeys and vultures

The Dallas Zoo has seen other bizarre animal developments in recent weeks.

A clouded leopard named Nova disappeared on January 13, and the zoo was closed to search for the animal. Police launched a criminal investigation after discovering the fence around Nova’s enclosure had been “deliberately cut,” they said. Later that day, Nova was spotted near her habitat.

Meanwhile, zoo staff observed similar cuts to several langur monkey enclosures, but none escaped, the zoo said. I didn’t judge.

The incident prompted the zoo to step up security, including installing more cameras and increasing nighttime guards and personnel, said president and CEO Greg Hudson. Limits were also placed on the animals’ ability to go out overnight, he added.

RELATED: Dallas Zoo tightens security after suspicious death of endangered vulture

A Lappet-faced Vulture named Ping was then found dead in his habitat on January 21. “The circumstances of the death are unusual and do not appear to be a natural death,” the zoo said in a statement.

Hudson said the bird’s death was “suspicious” and suffered “unusual wounds and injuries”. offers money.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., Warner Media Company. all rights reserved.