Dallas Zoo suspect says he took monkeys on train, records show

Emperor tamarin monkeys (stock image)

A suspect arrested for stealing two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo said he took the animals on the city's light rail system, according to new court documents.

Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested last week in connection with a string of suspicious incidents at the Texas zoo.

He told police he loved animals and would take more if given the chance, court documents show.

He is accused of taking emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn.

Acting on a tip, police found the monkeys in an abandoned home in Lancaster, Texas, a day after they were discovered missing on 31 January.

Irvin told police that on the night of 29 January, he waited until nightfall, hopped over a fence to get into the zoo and cut through the monkeys' enclosure and took them.

This was laid out in an affidavit for an arrest warrant from the Dallas Police Department, obtained by the BBC's US partner CBS News.

He then brought the monkeys with him on the city's light rail before taking them to an abandoned home where he says he kept them.

At the home, officers also discovered several cats and pigeons as well as dead fish and fish food, according to the affidavits.

Irvin has been charged with one count of burglary and six counts of animal cruelty.

He is charged with an additional count of burglary in connection to the escape of a clouded leopard named Nova. She was discovered missing on 13 January after a cut was discovered in her enclosure.

She was found safe later that day.

Irvin said he wanted to take Nova, too, but he could only pet her before she climbed on top of her enclosure.

Irvin was arrested last week near the Dallas World Aquarium after he asked staff there questions about the animals and an employee recognised him from video footage from the zoo released by police.

In the days before Bella and Finn were taken, a man at the zoo had been asking about how to care for emperor tamarin monkeys and how to transport them, according to affidavits. The same man was seen entering staff buildings.

Police have also linked Mr Irvin with sabotage to the enclosure of langur monkeys, though none escaped.

However, he has not been linked with the death of an endangered vulture at the zoo, who was found dead in its enclosure with an "unusual wound". The bird was one of only 6,500 on the planet and its death was deemed "very suspicious".