Dutch police hunt exotic monkey thieves
2013-03-14 21:34
The Hague - Dutch police launched an investigation on
Thursday into the overnight theft of 12 rare monkeys from an animal park in
central Netherlands, which has left zoo workers fearing for the tiny primates'
lives.
The brazen burglary was discovered around 09:00 when a
worker of the Wissel Dierenpark near the town of Epe, about 100km east of
Amsterdam, went to check on the primates.
"He saw a wooden door leading to their enclosure had
been forced open," Wissel's spokesperson Bernou Wagenaar told AFP.
Upon investigation the worker found "that some of
our rarest monkeys had been stolen," she added, saying police were
immediately notified.
The haul included six silvery marmosets, three pygmy
marmosets, a breeding pair of golden lion tamarins and one cotton-headed
tamarin.
Both tamarin species are considered highly endangered and
feature on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species' (Cites)
Appendix I, said Wagenaar, meaning they are threatened with extinction and
commercially trading them is forbidden.
Wagenaar said a team of police investigators have been
sent to the animal park "and they are still on the scene”.
Park said they worried the tiny monkeys, all tropical
species, may not be able to withstand the sudden change from a warm cage to the
cold Epe night, where temperatures plummeted to -3°C early on Thursday, according
to local media reports.
The monkeys also have a highly specialised diet that
requires a mix of fruits, insects and a vitamin supplement, said Wagenaar, who
added the park could not put a price tag on the loss of its most valuable
primates.
Police spokesperson Liesbeth Oelen confirmed police were
investigating, saying: "It's clear that the thieves specifically targeted
these monkeys."
