Looted Lemur And Mysterious Monkey Caper Rocks Santa Ana Zoo

SANTA ANA, CA — A missing lemur was located after a weekend theft from the Santa Ana Zoo, according to officials. Several Capuchin monkeys and at least one lemur were freed from cages at the zoo after someone cut locks with bolt cutters, it was reported.

Sometime between when the zoo closed Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, someone "hopped the fence, got into the zoo and opened two cages with some lemurs and ... monkeys," said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

Santa Ana zookeepers and animal control officers managed to wrangle the Capuchin monkeys back into their cages, but the lemur remained missing, Bertagna said. That lemur proved to be too much for whoever took it, according to the note that was left with the critter.

"While we were setting up a plan to start an area search of the zoo for the missing lemur, we got a call from Newport Beach police" that the lemur was found just outside the lobby of a Marriott hotel in that city, Bertagna said.

Newport Beach police received the call from the Marriott on Bayview Circle that someone had left the animal in a container by the front door. The crate that held the lemur bore a note declaring it had been stolen from the zoo and to call police, Bertagna said.

"The lemur was returned to the zoo the next morning," Newport Beach Police Department information officer Jennifer Manzella told Patch. "Apparently, he was a docile, tame little lemur."

"It sounds more like at this point that it was some kind of prank or a challenge because they placed (the lemur) in a public area in a secure box with a note," Bertagna said. Taking a lemur is a federal crime "because the animals are listed as an endangered species," Bertagna said.

All of the animals are back at the zoo and are OK, he said.

For more information about the Santa Ana Zoo, visit: www.santaanazoo.org

Renee Schiavone Photo