http://cfcn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...ey_RCMP_080508
RCMP seek motive after monkey killed in B.C. zoo
CTV.ca News Staff
Thu. May. 8 2008 8:19 AM ET
A break-in at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, which left one spider monkey dead and another missing, has RCMP investigators puzzled.
On Wednesday morning, Zoo keeper Cindy Hulst was making her routine rounds to give medicine to animals when she discovered a male monkey named Jocko dead.
She then realized his mate, Mia, was missing.
"Usually, the two spider monkeys come vocalizing, excited to see me in the morning and there was nothing,'' she told The Canadian Press.
"That's when I realized that the male was lying outside.... I went over to him hoping there was still life in him, but he was already gone."
The culprits apparently cut a hole in the spider monkey cage overnight Tuesday.
Cpl. Peter Thiessen, a spokesperson for Langley RCMP, said the incident defies logic. He told CTV British Columbia that the monkeys are valued at $5,000 each.
"Certainly it's not so much their value but clearly they're members of the family here," said Thiessen.
He said perhaps the thief wanted to sell the monkey on the black market or keep it as a personal pet.
Jamie Dorgan, an animal manager at the zoo, said Jocko probably tried to defend his territory and attacked the thief.
He told CTV British Columbia that it's likely the thief may have thrown Jocko, killing him.
Jody Henderson, a spokesperson at the zoo, said staff are devastated over the incident.
"They're a huge part of our family... it's a missing child and it's a murdered child, we're devastated," Henderson told CTV British Columbia.
Jocko and Mia have been residents at the zoo for about 15 years.
With files from The Canadian Press
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