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Stolen female monkey Ruma: Wanted
Photo: dpa
A bearded monkey that was stolen from Leipzig Zoo on the night of Easter Sunday is still missing: "The monkey is not back," a police spokeswoman told the dpa news agency on Wednesday morning.
Bearded monkeys are critically endangered
The absence of the female named Ruma was discovered on the morning of Easter Sunday, the zoo announced. According to the police, unknown people forcibly opened the enclosure on Sunday night and stole the animal. The Leipzig Police Department announced on Tuesday that the criminal police had secured traces and put the bearded monkey on notice.
Zoo director Jörg Junhold said that they were very concerned about the animal's well-being. Bearded monkeys were among the animal species at great risk of extinction. Keeping and transporting animals are regulated by the Washington Convention on Species, so legal procurement of the animals is subject to high requirements. As a consequence of the break-in, security precautions at the zoo were increased.
has/dpa