A spider monkey in Lisbon, Portugal.
A spider monkey in Lisbon, Portugal (not Texas).
Cláudio Policarpo / EyeEm via Getty Images
  • A woman entered the spider monkey exhibit at the El Paso Zoo over the weekend.
  • Video of the incident was uploaded to Instagram and quickly circulated online.
  • The zoo's director says he wants to press charges against the woman.
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A zoo in Texas wants to press charges against a woman who was seen in an Instagram video climbing into a spider monkey exhibit and interacting with the animals.

El Paso Zoo Director Joe Montisano told the El Paso Times that his staff has spoken with police about the incident, which happened over the weekend.

"This young lady decided to hop a fence, climb through some bushes, drop down into a four-feet deep moat, walk across the moat and then try to feed the spider monkeys," he told the local outlet.

El Paso's Lovett Law Firm told ABC affiliate KVIA that the woman recorded at the zoo was Lucy Rae, a litigation assistant in the firm's personal injury division.

Nora Artalejo Lovett, of Lovett Law Firm, said in a statement on Facebook that Rae has since been fired for her "irresponsible and reckless behavior."

A post shared by The Real Fit Fam El Paso (@fitfamelpaso)

Montisano told The El Paso Times that after video footage was posted on Instagram, the zoo received "six to eight" calls from people identifying Rae.

"It was stupid. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She's very fortunate that it didn't have a worse outcome for her or the animals," Montisano added. "These are primates. They are strong; they have canine teeth. They can scratch. We don't interact with them on the daily. And we don't interact with them without a barrier in between us."

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