Commandos have rescued endangered monkeys stolen from a zoo in south-western France after the kidnappers demanded a ransom and tried to sell them online.
Eight marmosets and five cotton-top tamarins – a critically endangered species distinguished by their striking white crests – were snatched from Exotic Park in Lescar, near Pau, in a night-time raid last week.
The thieves reportedly contacted the zoo demanding money for the animals' return, prompting investigators to bring in a specialist negotiator from the GIGN, France's elite gendarmerie unit.
