Wellington Zoo captured these CCTV images of the two people alleged to have stolen the conservation fund donation box.

Money donated to protect wildlife has been stolen from Wellington Zoo, with potentially hundreds of dollars lost.

The zoo's Conservation Fund donation box was stolen from the foyer by a man and woman about 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Ash Howell said it was a "targeted attack" and the culprits were caught on CCTV camera.

ROSA WOODS/STUFF The donation box in Wellington Zoo's foyer is not emptied every day, and is thought to have contained hundreds of dollars.

"The two people have carefully planned the timing of everything and how they've executed it."

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The zoo felt lucky to have the video footage, and was confident in the security measures it had in place, she said.

SUPPLIED Wellington Zoo supports global conservation projects such as the Red Panda Network, Cheetah Outreach and Free the Bears.

"We're hoping we can catch the two thieves."

The donation box in the zoo's foyer was not emptied daily, and the zoo estimated there was hundreds of dollars inside.

As a charitable organisation, the zoo relied on support from the community to save animals in the wild, Howell said.

ROSA WOODS/STUFF The donation box theft comes about four months after at least two of the zoo's 12 squirrel monkeys were injured during a break-in.

"We really rely on the community to support us in this work for animals."

The money would have gone to funding work with the zoo's conservation partners, including the Kākā Breed for Restoration Programme, Kea Conservation Trust and the West Coast Penguin Trust.

The zoo also supports global conservation projects such as the Red Panda Network, Cheetah Outreach and Free the Bears.

The CCTV footage had been provided to the police, who were working to find out what happened, Howell said.

Sergeant Grant Carroll said police had launched an investigation into the theft, and their forensics team had examined the scene.

"Excellent CCTV images were provided that show both the offending and the offenders. At this stage the images are being circulated within police to see if the offenders can be identified," Carroll said.

"We would welcome the offenders to make contact with police before we come knocking on their door."

The theft comes about four months after someone used bolt-cutters to break into the zoo's squirrel monkey enclosure after hours.

None of the zoo's 12 squirrel monkeys were taken, but two were found were scratches and bruises in addition to being shaken by the attempted theft.