Le Figaro Marseille
This is a most reassuring discovery for the La Londe-les-Maures Tropical Zoological Garden (Var).
On the night of January 26 to 27, fourteen of their little Common Saïmiri, better known as “Squirrel Monkeys,” were stolen by determined thieves while they were resting peacefully in their shelter in order to spend the night there. night.
The criminals, one of whom has since been arrested and taken into police custody as revealed by
La Provence
, had forced the doors of the park located in the Var before leaving with the 14 little monkeys without leaving a trace.
The Tropical Zoological Garden then quickly raised the alarm, mobilizing several volunteers to try to find the animals and leading the La Londe-les-Maures gendarmerie to open an investigation to identify the thieves.
Eleven monkeys are still missing
The Common Saïmiri, a monkey
that “lives in groups”
and
“cannot bear to live alone”
, is a protected animal species in France.
Many specimens are sought after and resold at high prices across France.
The suspects, if their exact motivations remain unknown for the moment, were probably trying to sell them to the highest bidder.
On Tuesday, a first animal was found safe and sound by the police in a city in the southern districts of Marseille.
The suspect, a young man aged 19 according to
La Provence
, was taken into police custody.
The animal was returned to the zoo and put back in its enclosure.
Thursday at 6 p.m., two other monkeys were found in perfect health by a woman, avenue Fernandel, in the 12th arrondissement of Marseille.
A police source told Le
Figaro
that this woman had warned the police after seeing a
“hooded and gloved”
man place a box at her feet supposedly containing
“two cats”
.
In the package were actually two Common Saïmiris, also stolen from the La Londe-les-Maures Tropical Zoological Garden.
The two specimens were handed over to a veterinarian and a member of the zoo came to collect the animals, which were also placed back in their enclosure.
The investigation to find the eleven other missing monkeys still missing is ongoing.