ROYAL OAK — A series of break-ins at zoos across the country is causing The Detroit Zoo and the Toledo zoo to be on high alert.
Dallas, Louisiana, and New York have all had animals go missing this year.
The Detroit Zoo has not been broken into but in an interview with the Detroit Free Press the CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums said there's been unusual activity at the zoo that was possibly a person casing the facility.
It raises eyebrows as in January someone freed a 25lb clouded leopard at the Dallas Zoo.
Police say the same man returned two weeks later in January to steal two emperor tamarin monkeys.
A few days before that a dozen squirrel monkeys were taken from a private zoo in Louisiana.
Then in February a eurasian eagle-owl escaped through a hole cut in the mesh of his enclosure at Central Park Zoo in New York.
In an interview with me founder and president of Secure Education Consultants, Jason Russell pointed out that it can be "extremely difficult" to secure a facility with so many individual areas and no roof.
However, "This is one case where I think that technology is actually ahead of the game because the analytics and technology that’s available on cameras and alarm systems now is really kind of ahead of what a human being can circumvent. The key is making sure that it’s in the right areas."
The Detroit Zoo declined to interview but issued but issued the following statement:
"As one of the largest visitor attractions in the region, the Detroit Zoo treats any type of suspicious activity seriously. We always remain vigilant, and it is a top priority to keep guests, staff, volunteers and the animals who call the Zoo home, safe."
- Dr. Hayley Murphy, executive director and CEO of the Detroit Zoological Society.
