Police frantically search for 17 stolen monkeys

French police have their work cut out for them as the hunt is on for 17 rare monkeys which  were reportedly stolen from a zoo in central France.

The monkeys; 7 golden lion tamarins and 10 silvery marmosets, which were stolen from the Beauval zoo on Saturday all belong to the Brazilian government.

According to zoo director Rodolphe Delord, "these are extremely rare, extremely fragile monkeys" even as concern was expressed for the health of the animals, which need special care and a specific diet.

Calling it an "outrageous threat", Delord they had been stolen by "experts" who evaded security cameras and night patrols.

He also added that one of the stolen tamarins has an injury on its tail which needs daily attention, BBC reported.

According to France-based environmental association Robin des Bois,  a tamarin could fetch between €5,000 (N1.1 million) to €10,000 (N2.2 million) on the black market.

Golden lion tamarins are an endangered species native to the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil.