Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona said it will not put down the jaguar that attacked a woman taking a selfie over the weekend.
“We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar. 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 her and her family,” the zoo tweeted in response to people raising concerns after the incident.
The statement came after a visitor sustained nonlife-threatening injuries at the zoo in Litchfield Park, Ariz., while allegedly leaning over the cat’s enclosure to take a selfie. Officials said the cat reached out and attacked her arm.
{mosads}Mickey Ollson, the director of Wildlife World Zoo, told Arizona’s CBS 5 News that there is “no way to fix people crossing barriers.”
“That happens occasionally,” Ollson said. “We put substantial barriers there, and if people cross them they can get in trouble.”
The well-being of zoo animals involved in incidents with visitors drew national attention in 2016, including from politicians like Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, after a zoo worker in Cincinnati shot a 17-year-old silverback gorilla named Harambe that had grabbed a three-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla’s enclosure.