Police are investigating after three animals were stolen overnight from a zoo in Springwater Township.
Staff at the Elmvale Jungle Zoo, northwest of Barrie, say that a baby gibbon, a black and white lemur and a tortoise are missing, after someone broke into the zoo through a fence.
Agnes is a black gibbon, an ape, under two years old. JC is a black and white lemur, just over one year old. And Stanley, an 18-inch tortoise, is five years old.
"They're not just animals to us, they're family," says zoo manager Michelle Persi, who got emotional talking about the incident.
Persi says that while gibbons are strong, Agnes is still a baby and doesn't have her full strength yet.
JC, though, has sharp teeth and when a lemur bites, they tend not to let go.
Persi says zoo staff are concerned for the animals' well-being and are asking whoever took them to bring them back safely.
"They need their proper diets," she says. "They need love... they need to be home. They need to feel safe."
Police say the suspect or suspects got into the zoo by cutting a hole in the outer fence along County Road 27. They then walked through the flamingo pond corral to get to the barn where the stolen animals were held.
There is no information on the suspects.