Two emperor monkeys, believed by authorities to have been taken from the Dallas Zoo, were found Tuesday in a closet of an abandoned home, officials said.
A tip led authorities to the home in Lancaster, south of Dallas, where they discovered the animals shortly before 5 p.m., Dallas police said in a statement.
No arrests have been made and an investigation into their disappearance is ongoing, the department said.
The animals have been returned to the zoo and staff will evaluate them Tuesday evening, a zoo spokeswoman said.
The announcement came hour after the department called for help identifying a person associated with the missing animals.
Their disappearance was the latest in a series of suspicious incidents at the zoo. Investigators found a deliberate cut in their habitat on Monday and believe they were taken, police said.
On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture, Pin, was found dead with what authorities have described as an “unusual wound.” The animal’s cause of death has not been determined.
On Jan. 13, Nova, a 3-year-old clouded leopard, escaped from her wire enclosure after an incision was made in it, authorities said. The cat, which the zoo said posed no danger to the public, was found later that day.
A similar cut was also found in the habitat of the zoo’s langur monkeys, police said. No animals escaped, were taken or injured.
It is not clear whether the incidents are related. The zoo has tightened security measures and added more nighttime guards and cameras.