Authorities are investigating after a pair of lemurs got loose and one of them scratched a little girl in North Miami Beach early Monday.
North Miami Beach Police say they received a call around 2 a.m. of two monkeys attacking a girl in the area of Northeast 172nd Street and 20th Avenue.
The 2-year-old girl had been getting out of a car with her mother when she was scratched in the face by one of the lemurs, police said.
"I have never in my 17 years," said North Miami Beach Police Sgt. Richard Rand. "This is the first time I've ever been dispatched to a call like this."
Officers were able to capture one of the lemurs after it jumped on top of a police car. The owner was able to catch the other lemur.
The girl was treated by fire rescue workers at the scene and wasn't hospitalized.
"Fire-Rescue treated her immediately, she appeared to be in good spirits," Rand added.
The owner of lemurs, Julia Hincapie, who keeps them in cage in his backyard, said someone broke in and that's how they got loose. He added that he has a permit for the lemurs.
"They were just, they were scared, that's it, they were running around, everyone was chasing them, a lot of lights, they were scared," Hincapie said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was at the scene investigating.
"We have called out FWC who is gonna come out and make sure that he is licensed, inspect the cages to make sure that their integrity hasn't been compromised because of a possible attempted burglary," Rand said. "Our main concern right now is to make sure that the neighborhood is kept safe."
Some neighbors said they don't mind the unusual house pets.
"There's nothing wrong with the monkeys, they're very peaceful, we feed them and everything," said neighbor Carlos Lezcano. "Like any other animals around, we got raccoons, we got cats, we got every kind of animals around here, which is beautiful."
More Local Stories:
