A father was caught on camera entering an elephant enclosure in search of a better picture with his 2-year-old daughter.
The bizarre incident took place at the San Diego Zoo where a 25-year-old father, who was later identified as Jose Manuel Navarrete, walked into an elephant enclosure before standing with his back turned towards a bull while posing for a picture with his two-year-old daughter.
In a video shared on Twitter, the elephant is seen charging at the father and the child, prompting the 25-year-old to run away.
While climbing through the barrier, the father dropped his daughter who was briefly left lying on the ground close to the raging animal. The father then proceeded to pick up his daughter before returning to safety.
Following his stupid actions, Navarrete was arrested and charged with child endangerment. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail and is set to be arraigned at the end of the month.
As Andrew James, a spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo, confirmed, the father entered the habitat of African and Asian elephants after “purposely and illegally” crossing multiple barriers.
“These guys right away were saying, ‘that elephant is going to charge’, and it did,” one of the witnesses, Lori Ortale, said in an interview with KSWB-TV.
Who’s dumbass babydaddy is this 🤦🏻♂️
Dude almost got himself & his child killed by an elephant at the san diego zoo. pic.twitter.com/E2FNWANrjb— Santi 🇲🇽☻︎ (@heafukinsav) March 21, 2021
“We told him to get out and he turned around and he saw it thankfully just in time. He runs, throws his baby through the gate and it’s seconds from hitting him. He jumps through the gate, falls on the ground and then it roared,” Jake Ortale added. “The baby starts crying and people were just mad at this guy.”
Following the incident, it was confirmed that no elephant was harmed during the occasion. It has also come to light that the 2-year-old is home with her mother following her father’s arrest.
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Replaced!