An El Paso woman was visiting a local zoo and was caught feeding Hot Cheetos to the spider monkeys. A video was circulated showing a woman climbing into the spider monkey exhibit laughing while feeding the spider monkeys. Luz Elizabeth Rae was arrested for criminal trespass and later fired by her employer after the video surfaced. Employees at the zoo were very angry at this and professed their distaste for her actions.
One of the zookeepers stated, "It's extremely dangerous. These are primates we're talking about here, so they can do some substantial damage to you. They have large canines; they're stronger than they look. They may be small monkeys, but they are extremely strong. They can take you to the ground if they wanted to. It takes years to build trust with these animals and for someone to come in there for five minutes for a video on Instagram or whatever just ruins years of work."
The zookeepers also stated that these monkeys are on special diets and Flamin' Hot Cheetos can cause abdominal issues for the spider monkeys. The disappointment was also felt by her employer, who released a statement stating, "The firm has always been a strong supporter of animals and advocacy. We absolutely do not condone this irresponsible and reckless behavior. We support the El Paso Zoo and our thoughts go out to the spider monkeys, Libby and Sunday, and we hope they recover from this traumatic experience."
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