Story at a glance
- Police say 26-year-old Luz Elizabeth Rae was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a charge of criminal trespassing.
- The video shows the young woman enter the animals’ enclosure, walk across a shallow moat and sit on a rock underneath a waterfall where she appears to try to feed two spider monkeys.
- The incident also cost Rae her job.
A Texas woman seen on video feeding spider monkeys in an exhibit at the El Paso Zoo last week has been arrested for trespassing.
Police say 26-year-old Luz Elizabeth Rae was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a charge of criminal trespassing, according to a news release.
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The video shows the young woman enter the animal’s enclosure, walk across a shallow moat and sit on a rock underneath a waterfall, where she appears to try to feed two spider monkeys.
A woman was caught on video climbing into a spider monkey enclosure and allegedly feeding the animals Hot Cheetos at the El Paso Zoo. El Paso PD is reportedly investigating the incident after the zoo filed a complaint. pic.twitter.com/yU3WJjRMBh
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 26, 2021
Zoo staff reportedly found out about the incident after viewing the video on social media. Zoo officials are pressing charges.
“It was stupid. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She’s very fortunate that it didn’t have a worse outcome for her or the animals,” zoo director Joe Montisano told The El Paso Times.
“These are primates. They are strong; they have canine teeth. They can scratch. We don’t interact with them on the daily. And we don’t interact with them without a barrier in between us,” Montisano told the outlet.
Montisano said the zoo may have to put a higher fence around the animal’s enclosure, which would make it harder for visitors to observe the spider monkeys.
The incident also cost Rae her job at the Lovett Law Firm.
“We learned this morning that the individual who was filmed trespassing in the spider monkey enclosure of the El Paso Zoo was an employee of Lovett Law Firm. She has been terminated,” the company said in a statement.
“The firm has always been a strong supporter of animals and animal advocacy. We absolutely do not condone this irresponsible and reckless behavior,” the company said.
Rae was reportedly released on bond Thursday.
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