PROGRESO, Texas — Four road-tested spider monkeys are headed back to Mexico after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers thwarted their smuggling at the Progreso International Bridge in Texas.
The undeclared primates were seized Thursday after officers found them concealed inside a duffel bag inside a 2017 Jeep Patriot driven by a 20-year-old U.S. woman, the agency confirmed in a news release.
Port Director Walter Weaver said in a prepared statement that routine inspections often yield “a myriad of prohibited agriculture products.”
“Sometimes these encounters yield hidden exotic animals, such as in this case,” Weaver added.
According to the agency, officers worked closely with CBP agriculture specialists to cautiously remove the spider monkeys from the bag and place them in an animal container.
Officers then contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose officials identified the smuggled animals as spider monkeys, the CBP stated.
According to the agency, spider monkeys are considered New World monkeys that are found in the tropical forests of Central and South America, including southern Mexico. The animals are considered endangered under the Endangered Species Act.