A man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of two emperor tamarin monkeys.
Dallas Police arrested Davion Irvin yesterday after a preliminary investigation and help from the public identified the 24-year-old.
Officers received a tip claiming Irvin was seen at the Dallas Aquarium near animal exhibits on Thursday.
Irvin has been charged with six counts of animinal cruelty concerning non-livestock and is being held in Dallas County Jail.
The two emperor tamarin monkeys, named Bella and Finn, were found on January 31.
Dallas Zoo revealed the pair showed no signs of injury beyond “losing a bit of weight”.
The dwarf monkeys have whiskers which resemble a white moustache.
The species can be found in tropical rainforests and mountainous regions of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.
Dallas Zoo, which has been closed in recent days due to adverse weather conditions, thanked the local police department for helping recover the monkeys.
The 134-year-old zoo said on Twitter: “We cannot thank the Dallas PD enough for their quick response and assistance in locating the tamarins.
“We are pleased that video from our surveillance cameras – which we shared with DPD – seems to have been critical in generating a tip that led to the recovery of the tamarins.”
The zoo also ramped up efforts to encourage members of the public to come forward with information.
In a recent Twitter post, Dallas Zoo confirmed it had increased its reward to $25,000 (£20,712) for information that leads to an arrest and indictment.
The incident comes shortly after a string of other suspicious events.
The zoo was closed after Nova, a three-year-old clouded leopard, briefly disappeared on January 13.
On January 24, vulture Pin, 35, was killed in what officials suggest were suspicious circumstances. Pin was one of only 27 lappet-faced vultures in captivity in the US.
