An adult woman was mauled by a jaguar after climbing the protective barrier to take a memorable selfie with the beast.
Instead of ending up with a picture that she could brag with, however, the woman will have scars to remind her of her actions for the rest of her life.
According to the witnesses who were at the Phoenix’s Wildlife World Zoo at the time of the incident, the ‘courageous’ woman climbed over the barricade despite people warning her not to enter the animal’s enclosure.
While the mischievous zoo visitor made it over the barrier, the animal took a swipe at her before she could take a selfie. The attack left the woman crying in pain and the paramedics were called to the zoo to treat her wounds.
Following the incident, the Wildlife World Zoo released a statement saying:
“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.
“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.”
Sharing a section of the statement on Twitter, the WWZ added: “Please understand why barriers are put in place. Sending prayers to the family tonight.”
The director of the zoo, Mickey Ollson, also spoke out and said that this isn’t an isolated case. Apparently, two visitors got injured after climbing into the jaguar’s enclosure during the last month.
“We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar,” WWZ tweeted.
“She’s a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe- not a wild animals fault when barriers are crossed. Still sending prayers to (the woman) and her family.”
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