When Aquinas Kasbar used bolt cutters to snip through a cage at Santa Ana Zoo and remove a lemur, he did not steal any old primate.
In a fact, be stole very rare, very old lemur, who at the age of 32 was the oldest ring-tailed lemur in captivity in the United States. It was called Isaac.
Kasbar, 19, did not get far with the animal, that is native to Madagascar. Perhaps overcome with regret, or else no longer in need of a primate companion, he left the animal in a plastic box outside of a hotel in Newport Beach. He wrote a note that said: “This belongs to the Santa Ana Zoo it was taken last night. Please bring it to police.”
This week, Kasbar was ordered to spend three months in a federal jai after pleading guilty to unlawfully taking an endangered species. He was also ordered to pay $8,486 (£6,598.69) in restitution to the zoo.
“He broke into the Santa Ana Zoo on July 27, 2018 after it had closed for the day,” said a statement issued by prosecutors in California. “He then used bolt cutters to cut a hole in the zoo’s enclosures for lemurs and capuchin monkeys, which enabled several of the animals to escape, though they were later recovered.”
It added: “Kasbar then placed Isaac in a plastic drawer that lacked ventilation holes…The next day, Kasbar abandoned the animal in front of a Newport Beach hotel, leaving him in the same plastic drawer…Isaac later was returned unharmed to the zoo.”
Officials said ring-tailed lemurs are on a list of the 25 most endangered primates. They are endangered, in part, because of the illegal pet trade, according to court papers.
Earlier this year, a lawyer for Kasbar, Brian Gurwitz, told NBC News his client had intended to keep the lemur as a pet and then was struck by what he had done.
“He quickly realised it was a bad decision, and he took steps that night to ensure that it would be returned safely to the zoo,” said Mr Gurwitz. “It was a poor youthful decision made by a high school student.”
