A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection to the thefts of two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo, authorities said Friday.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Davion Irvin was arrested on Thursday after being spotted near the animal exhibits at The Dallas World Aquarium.

Earlier this week, police released a picture of a man they were seeking to speak with regarding the monkey thefts. The man was seen in a blue hoodie, eating Doritos. Police confirmed the man in the picture is Irvin.

He was booked into the Dallas County jail and has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty.

The monkeys were reported missing on Monday morning. Authorities said their enclosure was cut, allowing someone to gain access to the animals. They were found a day later at an abandoned home near the zoo, police said.

The missing monkeys were the latest in a string of odd events at the zoo. The zoo reports that other enclosures have been cut recently.

A leopard escaped from its cage in January. It was found hours later on zoo grounds.

The zoo is also investigating the death of an endangered vulture. Officials called the death suspicious.

Irvin has only been charged in connection to the case of the missing monkeys. However, the Dallas Police Department said he could face more charges in the future if investigations determine he had a role in the other incidents.

NAPLES, Fla. —

A member of a third-party cleaning service that was contracted by the Naples Zoo was seriously injured after getting too close to a tiger Wednesday night, resulting in the death of the tiger.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said it was called at 6:26 p.m., after the zoo was closed to the public.

The member of the cleaning service was responsible for cleaning restrooms and the gift shop, not the animal enclosure, deputies said. They believe the man in his 20s was either petting or feeding the animal, neither of which are allowed.

Officials said the Malaysian tiger grabbed the man's arm and pulled it further into the enclosure after the man had gone through the initial barrier.

The deputy who first responded kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm before the deputy was forced to shoot the animal, the sheriff's office said. The tiger then ran to the back of the enclosure and was sedated.

The man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, deputies said.

The Malaysian tiger, which is a critically endangered species, was killed during the shooting, a spokesperson for the zoo said to ABC.

The tiger's name was Eko and came to the zoo from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle in Dec. 2019 before being introduced in Feb. 2020.

"Eko is a great ambassador for his species. When guests see him, we hope they fall in love and want to learn how they can do their part to save his cousins in the wild," the zoo says on its website.

The zoo is closed Thursday and scheduled to reopen Friday.

The zoo said it will be doing a fund in Eko's honor and released a statement on its website:

"Naples Zoo will be closed today, December 30th. The decision to close today was made to allow officials to complete their investigation late into the evening. This decision was also made to allow the Zoo to begin its own internal investigation and to allow our staff to process what has occurred and to begin the painful healing process. A grief counselor will be available for staff beginning today. We will reopen at 9 a.m. tomorrow and we thank our community for their understanding and for the messages and words of encouragement and support that have been flowing into us."

2021 moments: A look at the top viral animal videos of the year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

The Kansas City Zoo announced via press release that one of their western lowland gorillas recently had the delta variant of COVID-19.

The other five gorillas that make up the zoo’s troop, are presumed to also be positive. The zoo has yet to receive official test results.

While all the gorillas have shown symptoms of the virus, some have already returned to normal. The zoo says the rest of the troop continue to respond to treatment and are improving.

The gorillas’ care specialists first noticed that Charlie the gorilla did not appear to be feeling well on Sept. 22 and then began coughing on Sept. 25.

The zoo says the veterinary health team immediately began treatment but within the next several days other gorillas began showing symptoms. Coughing and a lack of appetite are among many outward symptoms the animals began displaying.

Related video: COVID-19 spreads through gorillas at zoo in Atlanta

All of the gorillas are scheduled for the Zoetis vaccine, which was specifically developed for use with animals. The zoo says research has shown the vaccine to be safe.

"As always, the top priority of the Kansas City Zoo is the health and safety of our animals, guests, and staff. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, the zoo implemented protocols to keep susceptible animals and their caregivers safe," The KC Zoo said in their press release.

The zoo doesn't know how the gorillas came down with virus. They also say that visitors to the KC Zoo are not at risk of contracting COVID-19, due to the viewing distance and design of their gorilla habitat.

BROOKFIELD, IL — The reported infection of animals with COVID-19 has been documented around the world. Most have been infected after contact with their human owners or caretakers.

Veterinarians say part of the fight against the coronavirus includes vaccinating zoo animals to prevent what’s known as spillover infections.

Scientists say most emerging infectious diseases originate in animals.

In fact, the zoonotic origin of the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia was traced back to cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in China. It eventually reached animals in live markets where it spilled over into humans.

“There's a huge interconnectedness between animals and people when it comes to a different number of different viruses and other illnesses,” said Dr. Mike Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine at the Chicago Zoological Society

Still, the source of SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 is still an official mystery.

An unclassified report from the office of the Director of National Intelligence last month was only confident that it was “not developed as a biological weapon.”

What we do know is that the novel coronavirus is not a human-only infection.

“We have seen cases of COVID-19 occur in a number of different species around the country in different zoos, primarily primates, large cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, as well as a number of smaller carnivores like otters and mink,” said Adkesson.

Late last week, more than a dozen western lowland gorillas reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 at Zoo Atlanta. Their care team noticed changes in appetitive and respiratory issues.

“Coughing, sneezing, lethargy, the animals just clearly feel a little bit under the weather, the same way that we see those same signs and symptoms in people,” said Adkesson.

While animals are not playing a major part in the transmission of the virus, they are clearly susceptible.

“Part of the concern is that those animals are able to spread it to other animals and potentially able to spread it back to people,” said Adkesson.

The CDC says there have been isolated cases of domestic dogs and cats that have become infected and have been able to transmit COVID-19 back to people.

Zoos across the country are now vaccinating their animals beginning with carnivores, primates, and big cats. The emergency use authorization of the vaccine Zoetis requires two doses three weeks apart.

“We're still pretty early on in this process, but we know that the vaccine is safe from the trials that Zoetis has done with it,” said Adkesson. “So, it's really just a question of how efficacious it's going to be in the long run for our animals.”

Caretakers at the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago have been required to mask and maintain social distancing as much as possible from the animals.

“There have been cases that have emerged in other zoos, though, even with those guidelines in place. So, we know that the virus is able to infect many of these animals the same way it's able to infect people,” said Adkesson.

It’s another reminder that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is intertwined.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

One Kentucky resident is enjoying the state's latest round of winter weather.

Another winter storm moved through Louisville Monday, bringing with it cold temperatures and more snow.

While many decided to stay indoors, Qannik at the Louisville Zoo had a snow day outside.

The 10-year-old polar bear rolled around and played in the snow for much of the day.

Check out the video above for a look at some of the fun.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the best zoo in the nation, according to a USA Today 10Best article.

It was voted the top wildlife park on a list of the 10 best by a panel of experts and the site’s editors.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized for being a great Zoo and a great Botanical Garden,” Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden director Thane Maynard said in a news release. “Some people who come here to see Fiona or Rico are surprised to discover that they are surrounded by a world-class botanical garden! We thank everyone who voted for us in both categories.”

The article cites the hippopotamus exhibit and our very own Fiona, as well as the meerkat bubble and cheetah racing show, as some highlights of the zoo-going experience.

Manatee Springs’ conservation of the Florida manatee and the Night Hunters exhibit were also mentioned.

Scientists discovered a new type of venomous spider in Florida, one apparently related to the tarantula.

Zoo Miami announced in a press release their staff aided in identifying the new species, dubbed the Pine Rockland Trapdoor Spider (Ummidia richmond).

The creature was first found in 2012 in an area near Zoo Miami by a zookeeper observing reptile research traps, according to the press release release.

Related video: What Color Do You Think Spiders Are Drawn To More Than Any Other?

The zookeeper took a photo of the insect, and sent it along to the Conservation and Research Department for identifying. But the zoo said it "never matched any existing records for known species in the region."

Years of research later, Dr. Rebecca Godwin of Piedmont College in Georgia confirmed the spider was a new species, according to the release.

"Zoo Miami staff is grateful to Dr. Godwin for years of work in confirming the identification of this new species," the zoo said in the release, "and are inspired that discoveries like this can still be made, even in the middle of a large developed region like the Greater Miami Area."

According to Zoo Miami, this newly discovered breed is a "habitat specialist." Like other trapdoor spiders it constructs burrows that it hides in to help ambush prey.