Mfotophile/iStockBy JULIA JACOBO, ABC News

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Authorities in San Francisco are searching for a ring-tailed lemur named Maki who was stolen from the he city’s zoo.

The San Francisco Zoo announced on Wednesday that Maki was discovered missing from the Lipman Family Lemur Forest that morning.

The 21-year-old male lemur is ” highly endangered” and requires special care.

Almost a third of lemurs are critically endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced in July. There are only eight remaining known populations around the world that have more than 100 ring-tailed lemurs.

Police spent Wednesday collecting evidence at the zoo, ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Barry Lipman, a former San Francisco Zoo board member, told KGO. “Why would anyone want a lemur?”

Lemurs are not easy to care for, added Lipman, who provides funding for the Lipman Family Lemur Forest.

Maki was last seen in his enclosure Tuesday night, investigators said. It’s unclear whether a suspect has been identified.

Police instructed anyone with knowledge of Maki’s whereabouts to call 911.

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