DALLAS — From the moment a clouded leopard escaped its enclosure at the Dallas Zoo on Jan. 13, fleeing through a fence that zoo officials said was intentionally cut, the city’s 135-year-old sanctuary for wild and endangered animals has fallen prey to intense scrutiny.
On the same day, police said the enclosure housing langur monkeys had also been tampered with, though none escaped. On Jan. 21, an endangered vulture was found dead, the severity of the crime leaving in its wake a horrifying wound. On Jan. 30, the crimes intensified with two emperor tamarin monkeys reported missing from yet another habitat that police said had been tampered with.
A single suspect has since been arrested, but the serial thefts and brazen vandalism have flooded the zoo with far more questions than answers. The crime wave has spurred national attention and on occasion hurled the institution into the zany milieu of 24-hour news, social media and pop culture.
