The El Paso Police Department announced that the woman who climbed into a spider monkey enclosure at the El Paso Zoo has been arrested for trespassing.
A 38-second video posted on Instagram showed the woman, identified as Lucy Rae, sitting under a waterfall inside the exhibit and attempting to feed the monkeys Hot Cheetos. The monkeys cautiously approached Rae, and one appeared to take a Cheeto from her hand before backing away. She then tossed another piece of food at the monkeys, but they ignored it, focusing their attention on the unwanted visitor inside their enclosure.
Mason Kleist, a zookeeper at the facility, told KVIA, Rae was lucky she was not injured.
"These are primates we're talking about, they could do some substantial damage to you," Kleist said. "They may be small monkeys, but they can take you to the ground if they wanted to."
The zoo said it planned to press charges against Rae and was working to prevent other guests from entering animal enclosures by installing more security cameras, increasing patrols, and upgrading the fencing around the exhibits.
After the video went viral, Rae was fired from her job as a paralegal at Lovett Law Firm. Another law firm, Mark T. Davis, Attorney at Law, said that it had hired Rae, though it is unclear if she will keep her job now that she has been arrested.
Photo: Getty Images