Jaguar that injured woman after she crossed barrier to take selfie will not be put down, say zoo officials
The internet rejoiced as officials at an Arizona zoo announced that a jaguar who attacked a woman after she climbed over a barrier to click a selfie with the animal will not be put down.
According to witnesses, the woman in question was trying to get a better view of the jaguar on Saturday when the wild beast lashed out at her at the Wildlife World Zoo near Phoenix, stated a Daily Mail report.
Acc. to @ZooWildlife: "Victim contacted the zoo and wanted to speak to the owner. She came out on Sunday and met with the owner Mickey Ollson. She told him she loves the zoo and feels horrible about the bad publicity the zoo is getting regarding the incident..." pic.twitter.com/e2bK5BnqYf
— Lindsey Reiser (@LindseyReiser) March 11, 2019
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) had earlier reported that the animal allegedly reached out to the woman and swiped at her when she climbed over a barricade to get a closer look at the enclosure.
Following the incident, animal lovers online raised concerns whether the jaguar would be euthanized following the attack. However, zoo officials cleared any misconceptions and confirmed on Twitter that she would not be put down after the brutal attack.
"We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar," they said. "She's a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe — not a wild animal's fault when barriers are crossed. Still sending prayers to (the woman) and her family."
The victim was seen in witness footage bleeding heavily as she sustained severe lacerations to her arm. In the video, she was seen lying on the floor crying in unbearable pain due to a deep gash on her arm as volunteers rushed to rescue her.
An investigation into the incident is underway, zoo officials said, while acknowledging that the woman had climbed over the barricade and put her own life at risk.
Woman injured by jaguar at Arizona zoo: "I was in the wrong for leaning over the barrier, but I do think that maybe the zoo should look into moving their fence back." https://t.co/5X6ORpSaka pic.twitter.com/vJW3zzMfK7
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 12, 2019
"We regret to inform that this evening, before closing there was an incident reported involving a guest, who crossed over the barrier to get a photo, according to eyewitnesses," Wildlife World Zoo said in a statement. "The visitor sustained non-life threatening injuries to their arm from one of our female jaguars. At the request of the family, paramedics were called. At no time was the animal out of its enclosure. The incident is being fully investigated."
That said, this is the second time in a month that the jaguar has swiped at a visitor, zoo director Mickey Ollson said.
