TAOYUAN (TVBS News) — Taoyuan Agriculture Bureau officials paid their respects on Tuesday (March 29) to an olive baboon killed one day earlier.
Despite this gesture, many questions remain about the primate's death, including its origin, cause of death, and who is responsible for the animal's demise.
An X-ray scan conducted at Taipei Zoo revealed that the baboon was female and had wounds on its left chest and right back.
The primate was then sent for an autopsy at the National Institute for Animal Health to determine the exact cause of death.
The olive baboon had been roaming around Taoyuan City for 18 days, eluding all attempts by authorities to capture it, including the use of drones, heat cameras, and traps.
It is unclear where the primate came from, although some speculated that it may have escaped from Leofoo Village Theme Park, which the park denied.
On Monday, the Taoyuan Agriculture Bureau finally caught the elusive baboon after shooting it with a tranquilizer dart. Sadly, the animal died shortly after that, and authorities reported finding gunshot wounds on the primate.
A hunter has come forward, claiming that he was the one who shot the baboon at the request of authorities. However, both the Agriculture Bureau and Leofoo Village Theme Park denied this allegation.
A police investigation is underway to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the death of the olive baboon.