Spider monkeys made for an “usual discovery” when they were found in a bag by Texas U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, the agency announced.
Agents found four of the undeclared primates in a duffel bag at the Progreso International Bridge in Texas, a Jan. 4 news release said.
The release said a 20-year-old American woman was driving across the bridge on Dec. 30 when she was stopped for an inspection. Officers then discovered the four spider monkeys, which make their home in Central and South America.
“While conducting their inspections, our officers will often encounter a myriad of prohibited agriculture products,” Port Director Walter Weaver said in the release. “Sometimes these encounters yield hidden exotic animals, such as in this case.”
Experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially identified the creatures as spider monkeys.
According to the border patrol agents, the New World monkeys were smuggled in from Mexico. The woman was “issued a penalty” by agents, and the monkeys were sent back to Mexico, the release said.
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