HOUSTON—The Houston zoo has come under attack, and they’re asking the FBI for help.

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Houston Zoo

But it’s not angry elephants or undercover orangutans they’re after – it’s text messaging pranksters.

A “viral” text-messaging campaign has flooded the zoo’s switchboard with phone calls. 

Basically, someone is sending mysterious texts that include a cryptic message and the zoo’s main phone number.

On Sunday alone, the zoo fielded 3,500 of the calls – 10 times more than usual.

The messages say things like “Somebody is talking down on you, look for them,” followed by the zoo’s number.

Brian Hill, a zoo spokesman, said the calls started on April 22.  He urged those who receive the messages not to call.

But finding out who’s behind the texts will be a tricky task.

The messages often appear to come from friends and family of the receivers.  That means that their address books have been hacked.

Think of it as spam, for text messages.

If you get one of the texts, don’t reply, technology specialist Michael Garfield told the Houston Chronicle.

Garfield said that users should contact their wireless carrier, who may be able to trace where the call came from.

Houston’s isn’t the only city zoo that’s fallen prey to text attacks.  A few weeks ago News.com.au reported that the Dublin zoo was flooded with phony texts from “G. Raffe” and “Anna Conda,” wreaking similar havoc on their phone system.