A woman was fired from her job at a Texas law firm after video showed her climbing into a spider monkey enclosure at an El Paso, Texas zoo and feeding the animals.
The video, which recently surfaced on social media, showed the woman climbing into the enclosure, through a water feature and appearing to throw food at the monkeys.
You can see news coverage here:
The water feature, which was placed as a deterrent for the monkeys, proved no obstacle for this woman. She let herself in and immediately began tempting the monkeys with Hot Cheetos, which she then threw at the confused creatures.
A low fence keeping the enclosure separate from tourists may now have to be raised, the zoo said, since the woman abused the opportunity it afforded for better visibility.
Wow very disappointed that the smarter primates didn't attack her!\nAnd BTW I worked at a zoo. They need to work on barriers that cannot be breached!— Donnelle Burlingame (@Donnelle Burlingame) 1621994193
This behavior put herself and the monkeys at risk. Not only because had they attacked her (they can seriously harm) there's a risk of them being put-down, but her selfish disregard for the rules could sets a precedent for others to do the same. This entitled behavior isn't cute.— Day One Glitch (@Day One Glitch) 1622061068
Me: Alexa, what\u2019s the dumbest way to become a felon? \n\nAlexa:— Nuttle (@Nuttle) 1622045932
Well, we ALREADY know her first name is "Karen."— Sencha Skene (@Sencha Skene) 1621993441
Unfortunately for the woman, who will also face charges from the El Paso Zoo, her place of employment identified her from the video and fired her.
They released a statement on social media.
The woman, whose name was Lucy Rae, was a litigation assistant with Lovett Law Firm.
More Texas:\n"Lucy Rae, who worked at Lovett Law Firm in the personal injury division, was fired Monday after the firm saw a video of the incident that has since gone viral."https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1397233604393066502\u00a0\u2026— ReVIVE (@ReVIVE) 1621961668
The Lovett Law Firm identified the woman as one of its litigation assistants in the firm's personal injury division. The firm said it did not condone the woman's actions or have any knowledge of it until the video was publicly released. https://abc13.com/pets-animals/video-shows-woman-inside-texas-zoos-monkey-exhibit/10692074/\u00a0\u2026 via @ABC13Houston— Marie\ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc3a\u2652\ud83d\udc83\ud83d\udc99 (@Marie\ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc3a\u2652\ud83d\udc83\ud83d\udc99) 1622002635
She was fired from her job Monday. She was a litigation assistant with Lovett Law. Her name is Lucy Rae and she was feeding them hot Cheetos. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.— Sarcastic pit bull mom (@Sarcastic pit bull mom) 1621984879
On Thursday, May 27, Lucy Rae was arrested by the El Paso police.
Woman arrested for trespassing into monkey enclosure at EP zoo. Additional info forthcoming— EL PASO POLICE DEPT (@EL PASO POLICE DEPT) 1622135276
Yes finally!!! Justice for the spider monkeys Lucy Rae needs one of these golpazos to knock some sense into herpic.twitter.com/6DFKYI46o7— Erzs\u00e9bet Mikl\u00f3s (@Erzs\u00e9bet Mikl\u00f3s) 1622141296
Someone go throw hot Cheetos at her.https://twitter.com/eppolice/status/1397962789755310082\u00a0\u2026— \u1d00\u1d0d\u028f \u1d0a\u1d0f \u0950 (@\u1d00\u1d0d\u028f \u1d0a\u1d0f \u0950) 1622145156
i just want to know what was going through her head , like girl whyhttps://twitter.com/eppolice/status/1397962789755310082\u00a0\u2026— samantha \ud83e\udd0e (@samantha \ud83e\udd0e) 1622140389
Play stupid games. \n\nWin stupid prizes.https://twitter.com/eppolice/status/1397962789755310082\u00a0\u2026— Steve on Resler (@Steve on Resler) 1622137043
Rae has been charged with trespassing.
The monkeys, Libby and Sunday, have not commented on the experience.
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