“Stupid” Texas woman was spotted feeding spider monkeys Hot Cheetos at the El Paso Zoo.
- Lucy Rae, from Texas, illegally entered the spider monkey exhibit at the El Paso Zoo and fed the animals spicy snacks.
- The woman’s “stupid” actions were captured on camera.
- Following the incident, Rae was fired from her job at a law firm and may face criminal charges.
A Texas woman identified as Lucy Rae invaded the spider monkey exhibit at the El Paso Zoo. The reckless woman interacted with two of the monkeys and even fed them Hot Cheetos.
The zoo incident occurred over the weekend, Newsner reveals.
El Paso Zoo director Joe Montisano called Rae “stupid” for trespassing the monkey habitat and claimed that she gave Hot Cheetos to two of the primates – Libby and Sunday. According to the zoo’s director, the woman was “lucky” to exit the area unharmed.
“Stupid and lucky.” Those are the words the director of the El Paso Zoo, Joe Montisano, used to describe the local women who trespassed into the zoo's spider monkey enclosure. https://t.co/vhgPjX7MGq
— KVIA ABC-7 News (@abc7breaking) May 24, 2021
Talking to ABC7, zookeeper Mason Kleist commented:
“These are primates we’re talking about, they could do some substantial damage to you. They may be small monkey’s but they can take you to the ground if they wanted to.”
The zookeeper claims Rae put the animals and herself in danger.
By giving spicy snacks to Libby and Sunday, the woman put them in danger, as they are on a special diet, and any human food could cause severe stomach issues. Furthermore, Kleist fears that Rae also put the monkeys at risk of contracting COVID-19 by interacting with them. He said:
“Anything that we have they could get as well so Covid is no different. We took the necessary steps to prevent them from getting that, so for someone to just go in there and give them food from their hands could just ruin that.”
The inconsiderate woman’s actions were captured on camera, possibly with gaining social media attention in mind.
In the video, Rae can be seen throwing Hot Cheetos at the monkeys while standing beside a waterfall inside their habitat.
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The caption for the distressing footage reads:
“This is (unfortunately) real: A local woman crossed into the spider monkey enclosure at the El Paso Zoo today and fed them… Hot Cheetos.”
Outraged social media users commented:
“Not only could she have possibly poisoned the wildlife but she also put them in danger of being euthanized 😐, if they decided to attack her imagine what would’ve happened.”
“I don’t understand what makes people think doing things like this is okay.”
Following the incident, the Lovett Law Firm, where Rae was working as a litigation assistant, stated that they fired her after hearing about her irresponsible actions. In the meantime, local police reported that they launched an investigation into the case. Rae may also face criminal charges.