4 February 23-March 1, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents WHAT’S A ZOO TO DO? Stolen monkeys, a leopard on the loose and a dead vulture in Dallas rekindle debate over whether zoos should exist. BY SIMONE CARTER W ild emperor tamarins thrive in tropical rain- forests, so it’s safe to as- sume that on Tuesday, Jan. 31, Bella and Finn were cold. It was 37 degrees inside the boarded-up community home in Lancaster where the pair of monkeys was finally found. The day before, news broke that they’d been swiped from the Dallas Zoo as a winter storm swept over North Texas. One of the primates was filmed greeting its rescuers, sitting perched atop a section of chain-link fence in a closet. In the house, authorities reportedly encountered moldy clothing, animal feces, dead fish and domes- tic cats. Bella and Finn had shed some weight but were otherwise unharmed. The white- whiskered monkeys’ return was a happy moment for the Dallas Zoo, which earlier that month had fallen victim to at least three other illicit acts. First, there was Nova, the 25-pound clouded leopard who went missing after slipping through a “suspicious opening” in her enclosure. She was located within the day. Someone had also apparently tampered with the langur monkey exhibit, but none of those animals escaped. Then, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture named Pin died from what appeared to be a stab wound, WFAA reported. When Nova went missing in mid-Janu- ary, the Dallas Zoo tweeted it had closed for the day “due to a serious situation.” An out- pouring of support followed, but not every- one offered condolences. “Ban zoos,” one Twitter user wrote. It was a sentiment both repeated and opposed by others on social media after the Dallas Zoo posted about the death of Pin. The bizarre back-to-back occurrences have prompted onlookers in Texas and be- yond to ask: “What the heck is going on at the Dallas Zoo?” Could animal rights activ- ists be to blame? Disgruntled zoo employ- ees? Black-market smugglers? After weeks of an ever-deepening mystery, answers started to trickle in. The last day of January, the Dallas Police Department tweeted out a photo of some- one officers wanted to speak with about Bella and Finn. The grainy picture showed a young man wearing a toboggan hat and a dark jacket with the hood up, holding a bag of what looked like nacho cheese-flavored chips. Social media users were quick to come up with a nickname for the fellow: the Doritos Bandit. Three days later, local media reported that police had made an arrest. Davion Dwight Irvin, 24, was apprehended after he’d been spotted lurking near another ani- mal habitat at the Dallas World Aquarium. Leading up to the arrest, members at Lancaster’s Family Center Church of God in Christ reportedly recognized Irvin from the police photo and tipped off the authori- ties. It wasn’t the first time someone had broken into their adjacent community house nor the first time animals — namely, cats and birds — had been discovered after a break-in. Irvin was taken to the Dallas County Jail, charged with six counts of animal cru- elty and two counts of burglary of a build- ing. He remained in jail as of last week with bonds totalling $130,000. Dallas police said earlier this month the probe into Pin’s ap- parent killing hadn’t yet come to a close, and additional charges were possible. Irvin reportedly told investigators following his arrest that if he were released, he’d nab more animals. The Dallas Zoo is vowing to harden its se- curity by adding cameras and fencing and nearly tripling patrols, among other measures. Its neighbor to the west, the Fort Worth Zoo, has also ramped up security in response. For weeks, the strange string of zoo break-ins dominated conversations in North Texas with each new development. It likely even inspired copycat attacks both within and outside the Lone Star State. Central Park Zoo in New York announced in early February that one of its owls escaped follow- ing an act of vandalism. Days later, Houston Zoo officials reported that they believed someone had cut into the mesh fence of the brown pelican habitat. Outside of the “zoo-dunit’s” morbid en- tertainment value, the scandal is also rekin- dling an old debate with fresh fuel. While proponents insist that zoos offer unparal- leled benefits in terms of education and con- servation, some animal rights advocates argue that it’s time to buck them for good. D uring one of their trips to the Dallas Zoo, Jordan Gooch’s son became enthralled by snakes. The visit stuck with 2-year-old Remy, who even got a chance to touch some nonvenomous ser- pents brought out by staff. Gooch sees the impression that such experiences make on his son, who may even recount them days later to his teachers at school. Gooch’s family enjoys checking out talks at the zoo, including a recent one about penguins. He said young attendees can wit- ness empathy in action in the way that zoo workers tend to fauna. “They get to see people interact with the animals,” he said. “So, I think that that’s one big driving factor in [Remy] understanding the human-ani- mal relationship is not this disconnected thing, but it’s more symbiotic than that.” Remy is also fond of the monkeys, so Gooch was sad to hear that the emperor tamarins had been abducted — not to men- tion the other incidents. “The zoo is part of our community — it’s like six minutes away from our house — and so, to see them struggling through something like this, it’s just painful to see happen on a consistent basis,” he said. “Because you do see a lot of people that work there Above: Jordan Gooch supports the Dallas Zoo, which provides education and joy for his family. Left: An emperor tamarin monkey at the Dallas Zoo. Mike Brooks | UNFAIR PARK | >> p6 courtesy Dallas Zoo
