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Texas woman fired after viral video shows her in zoo’s spider-monkey exhibit

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso Zoo officials say they are investigating after a woman was caught on video climbing into a spider-monkey exhibit.

A 38-second clip posted by Instagram user FitFam appears to show a woman feeding the animals after apparently climbing inside the exhibit.


Zoo officials said they intend to press charges against the woman, who is accused of breaching security. They also said they are looking into ways to prevent similar situations from happening again.

The Lovett Law Firm in El Paso identified the woman as an employee, according to a statement, adding that she has since been terminated.

In a social media post, the firm said it is a strong supporter of animals and does not condone the behavior seen in the video.

“We absolutely do not condone this irresponsible and reckless behavior,” the firm posted on Instagram. “We support the El Paso Zoo and our thoughts go out to the spider monkeys, Libby and Sunday, and hope that they will recover from this very traumatic experience.”