Animals at Elmvale zoo stolen
Lemur, tortoise, baby gibbon taken in mysterious late-night heist
Someone has stolen a lemur, a tortoise and a baby gibbon from the Elmvale Jungle Zoo.
Between 10 p.m. Monday and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, JC the lemur, Stanley the tortoise and Agnes the baby gibbon were all taken from the Simcoe County zoo, the OPP’s Huronia West Detachment said in a news release on Tuesday.
Someone cut a hole in the chain-link fence at the front of the zoo, jumped through the flamingo corral and grabbed the animals, Det. Const. Chris Lesage told the Star.
Together, the animals are said to be worth more than $20,000.
Lesage said that there are no suspects at this time, adding that “I can’t give details, but I can say that it’s the evidence left at the scene that makes us believe this was more than one person.”
Lesage warned the animals are used to being caged and may react with hostility to their abduction. “They look cute and fluffy, but they’re not necessari- ly the most friendly out of their environment.”
Marina Huygen has worked at the Elmvale Junge Zoo for five years and she said she cannot even begin to fathom why someone would steal these animals.
“I wish there was some indication of ‘why,’ ” Huygen said. “Our animals are used to a certain diet and being fed at certain times of the day, which is why we’re all very worried and hope that we get them back soon, safe and sound.”
Huygen said that the zoo is a family-owned business, and the family and staff are feeling the emotional loss along with the physical one. The main damage at the zoo is the hole in the fence, Huygen said, and that’s what they’re spending most of today working on.
The Elmvale Jungle Zoo posted on their Facebook page about the stolen animals and, along with police, are asking anyone with information to contact the OPP at 1-888-3101122 or Crime Stoppers at1-800222-8477.