Cops in Baltimore arrested two boys in the alleged theft of exotic animals — including turtles, geckos and an iguana — from a nature center after their mom called authorities, a report said.
The children, ages 11 and 14, were being dealt with as juveniles, NBC station WBAL-TV reported.
Police recovered the animals Tuesday inside a home in southwest Baltimore, not far from the Carrie Murray Nature Center, the station said.
The animals were taken from the nature center during two different break-ins since Saturday morning, WBAL reported.
Six turtles, two geckos, an iguana and a Madagascar hissing cockroach were among the exotic creatures taken, it added. The Baltimore Sun reported that two chameleons were also taken
Alarm system turned off
Police said they received a few tips about the case, including one from a person who said he or she had seen kids carrying cages into an apartment complex near the center.
Police said the mother of the two boys arrested also called police once she found the animals.
The nature center told WBAL Wednesday that all the animals had been returned and were doing fine. The police investigation was continuing.
The Baltimore Sun said that the arrests had ended suspicions that the break-ins had been inside jobs by an employee or volunteer.
In the second break-in, someone had turned the alarm system off, the Sun said, citing city officials.
The paper said the iguana, named Zena, had been abused by its former owner and was a favorite of local children.
More valuable animals, including hawks and owls, were left behind, naturalists at the center told the Sun.
The children, ages 11 and 14, were being dealt with as juveniles, NBC station WBAL-TV reported.
Police recovered the animals Tuesday inside a home in southwest Baltimore, not far from the Carrie Murray Nature Center, the station said.
The animals were taken from the nature center during two different break-ins since Saturday morning, WBAL reported.
Six turtles, two geckos, an iguana and a Madagascar hissing cockroach were among the exotic creatures taken, it added. The Baltimore Sun reported that two chameleons were also taken
Alarm system turned off
Police said they received a few tips about the case, including one from a person who said he or she had seen kids carrying cages into an apartment complex near the center.
Police said the mother of the two boys arrested also called police once she found the animals.
The nature center told WBAL Wednesday that all the animals had been returned and were doing fine. The police investigation was continuing.
The Baltimore Sun said that the arrests had ended suspicions that the break-ins had been inside jobs by an employee or volunteer.
In the second break-in, someone had turned the alarm system off, the Sun said, citing city officials.
The paper said the iguana, named Zena, had been abused by its former owner and was a favorite of local children.
More valuable animals, including hawks and owls, were left behind, naturalists at the center told the Sun.
