In addition to a large cash reward, local restaurant Pizza 9 has announced that it is offering free pizza for up to a year to the person who can lead police to those responsible for killing “Jasper,” one of ABQ BioPark’s Tasmanian devils.
Zookeepers found Jasper dead in his exhibit on the morning of Oct. 15. Jasper was probably bludgeoned to death with a large piece of asphalt, said the Albuquerque Mayor’s Chief of Staff Gilbert Montano.
“I think that it’s a horrific incident,” Montano said. “It’s tragic, upsetting, and we shouldn’t have to tolerate it.”
Coupled with Pizza 9’s reward, the cash reward for finding Jasper’s killer currently stands at $10,000. The BioPark Society and the Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers, as well as Corrales resident Laurel Westman, have chipped in money in hopes of finding the person responsible for the murdered marsupial, Montano said.
Along with the rewards, the BioPark is looking to step up security around the park in response to the incident, Montano said. It remains unclear how the perpetrator or perpetrators gained access to the Tasmanian devil exhibit without being detected or identified by security cameras around the zoo.
“We are going to be taking more security measures and we are going to be redoing the whole monitoring system,” Montano said.
Jasper was one of four Tasmanian devils that the BioPark received in December 2013. The Albuquerque zoo is one of only two zoos in the country to feature a Tasmanian devil exhibit. The zoo has no plans for replacing Jasper yet, but hopes that upgraded security will act as a deterrent of any more criminal activity, Montano said.
Tasmanian devils were officially placed on the endangered species list in 2008. Now only found on the island of Tasmania, just south of Australia, these nocturnal, carnivorous marsupials are currently threatened by loss of habitat, competition for resources with other animals such as the red fox, and Devil Facial Tumor Disease, he said. Devil Facial Tumor Disease, or DFTD, is a cancer that affects only Tasmanian devils, causing large lesions to grow on their faces and often the rest of their bodies.
According to the BioPark’s website, the zoo is looking to offer a safe, healthy and disease-free environment for these animals to reproduce and eventually be reintroduced to the wild.
“We are trying to create a safe haven at our zoo with the hopes to breed these animals,” Montano said. “Since these animals are endangered, this is a significant concern.”
Since Jasper’s death, activities at the BioPark — such as this year’s Zoo Boo, which occurred last Saturday — have resumed as usual. The 26th Annual Zoo Boo, an event where families can safely go trick-or-treating throughout the zoo from exhibit to exhibit, brought some joy to the zoo after the incident involving Jasper, Montano said.
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Some Albuquerque residents are still concerned about the need for justice and how the incident has affected the Duke City’s reputation. The Tasmanian devil incident has attracted attention from news agencies such as ABC, NBC and The New York Times.
“The fact that a person wants to kill an endangered species is just an ignorant person, really,” said UNM psychology major Jessica del Valle, who spends time at the BioPark doing research on gorillas for her gorilla research lab. “When we finally get a new animal and someone kills it, what are we supposed to think?”
The cash reward and the reward from Pizza 9 are still being offered. Anyone with tips or leads on Jasper’s murder is asked to contact Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers online at www.crimestoppersnm.com, by texting “APD” and the tip to 274637, or by calling (505) 843-STOP. Donations for Tasmanian devil disease research are also accepted online at http://www.tassiedevil.com.au.
Ryan Lotz is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Lotz_DailyLobo.
