The endangered vulture that was found dead in its habitat over the weekend had an apparent wound, a zoo official said Monday. The bird, named Pin, was one of four lappet-faced vultures at the zoo.
The zoo’s veterinary team conducted a necropsy, but officials declined to expand on the findings other than revealing the bird was found with “a wound.”
Zoo staff alerted police Saturday about the “unusual” circumstances of the bird found dead.
Zoo spokeswoman Kari Streiber previously said Pin’s death did “not appear to be from natural causes,” but couldn’t share any other details until police were able to investigate.
Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said detectives have begun interviewing zoo staff members and gathering video surveillance, adding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now assisting in the investigation.
The death comes just more than a week after an hours-long search for missing clouded leopard, Nova, spurred a criminal investigation. She was found inside the zoo. Police believe the cat’s enclosure was intentionally cut open, along with a habitat for langur monkeys.
The zoo is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in the cases. Police have not yet determined if the incidents are related.
“It’s totally unprecedented and disturbing,” Dallas Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson said at a Monday news conference. Hudson said he had never experienced incidents such as Pin’s death or the recent habitat vandalism in his career working at zoos.
Hudson said, before the string of incidents began, the zoo already had more than 100 cameras on-site monitoring the public, staff and animals. They have since increased camera coverage, including adding solar tower units — loaned to them from Dallas police — and have more than doubled their overnight security and staff presence.
Where “it was feasible,” Hudson said, the zoo has also limited some animal’s ability to roam in the outdoor areas of their enclosures overnight.
We’re going to continue to expand and implement whatever it takes for the safety and security (of) the animals, staff and the people who live near the zoo,” Hudson said.
What kind of bird was Pin?
Pin was at least 35 years old and had been the zoo for 33 years. The other three vultures, two males and one female, remain at the zoo in the Wilds of Africa habitat.
Pin had sired 11 offspring, which now living in zoos across the country including in New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. Its first “grandchild” hatched in early 2020 and lives at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
Lappet-faced vultures are considered endangered with a chance to move to critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are likely only about 6,500 of the species left with 27 in U.S. zoos and 41 in Europe and the Middle East.
